UFC 326 results: Caio Borralho eyes Du Plessis after de Ridder shutout

Caio Borralho re-cemented himself as a top middleweight contender.

Borralho (18-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) fended off the grappling of Reinier de Ridder (21-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) to score the unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). The middleweight bout was the UFC 326 co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Right off the bat, Borralho threw a spinning body kick, followed by a leg kick. De Ridder telegraphed a takedown which was easily read by Borralho. De Ridder threw a knee down the middle which landed low and caused a break in the action. When they resumed, de Ridder pressed forward with a combination, but Borralho fired back with a straight left. De Ridder threw a three-punch combination, but didn’t have too much pop. Borralho landed a big right hand. De Ridder took Borralho down briefly, and continued holding onto him as he tried to drag him down to the mat. He finally did as the round came to a close.

In Round 2, Borralho stormed out of the gate by landing a big right. He connected with a hard left, prompting de Ridder to grapple. De Ridder struggled to take Borralho down as he pressed him against the cage for over a minute. Borralho eventually broke free. De Ridder pushed forward, but failed to land any significant strikes. He was however, the more active fighter in the round.

Borralho came out aggressive once again in Round 3. De Ridder appeared to slip and was met with a takedown as soon as he got up. Borralho briefly got mount but eventually transitioned to side control. With less than two minutes remaining, de Ridder worked his way back up. Both fighters appeared tired as they threw labored punches. De Ridder pushed forward with a nice combination. Borralho landed a nice calf kick then a right hand to close out the round.