Las Vegas, NV — Middleweight Caio Borralho is undefeated through four fights in his burgeoning UFC career, but his star turn arrived on Saturday at UFC Vegas 72.
Borralho (14-1) faced Poland’s Michal Oleksiejczuk in the co-main event of the Fight Night card, and picked up a submission win (and Performance of the Night bonus), marking his first finish in the promotion.
“I think it was a good performance. I knew Michal Oleksiejczuk was going to come very strong in the beginning. I knew that he was going to try to knock me out,” Borralho told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “Because, see, this guy was KO’ing guys from the light heavyweight division, and he was top 15 there. Then he got down, got two first round knockouts — I knew that he was trying to kill me.”
The strategy with his team, said Borralho, was “to pass this first storm. And after that, I was going to start to [piece] him up. Then I started to [piece] him up with my kicks, my elbows, and then eventually the takedown. The best double-leg in the UFC.”
Getting his first stoppage in the UFC in his fourth fight with the organization, “that felt great, man. That felt really, really great,” Borralho exclaimed. “Because I know I’m a finisher. My 13 wins before this fight, seven was by finishing guys. So I know I have this inside of me, and I know that naturally — I’m ‘The Natural’ — I know that naturally, this will come along. I just needed to work a little bit more, I did more 101 with my coaches, fixing all the holes that I had in my top game, inside the positions that I was losing. Then you guys saw what I did. That was it.”
Despite picking up three wins last year, the Brazilian was criticized by fans and even some media members for a perceived lack of finishing ability. In spite of that, the suggestion that such criticism was frustrating was brushed off by Caio Borralho.
“Actually, I wouldn’t say frustrating. Because I was getting my money. I was getting my win money, and these guys were just talking,” Borralho stated. “I was getting contracts, I got a contract with Stake.com, I got a contract with Howler Head, I got a contract with Block Asset, and all these guys know that I’m doing my job right. So you guys can say whatever you want. I’m making money, I’m going to the top, now I’m going to the top 15. I’m going to crack my way there. And I’m showing my worth. I’m here to show my worth.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 72 post-fight press conference with Caio Borralho above.
