Caio Borralho: Reinier de Ridder not in title picture, at least three guys ahead of him
De Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) outlasted former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) in this past Saturday's UFC on ABC 9 main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
De Ridder has won four fights in eight months, but Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) doesn't think his resume quite stacks up with rest of the top contenders in the division.
"That was a very, very close fight, but I think Whittaker didn't do enough to win this fight," Borralho told Submission Radio. "I think De Ridder actually won the fight even if it was close, but I don't think this is a fight that makes him a backup or in a position to be coming for the belt, or even the loser of (champion) Dricus (Du Plessis) and (Khamzat) Chimaev. There are at least three other guys in front of him in the division. There's Anthony Hernandez, there's me, there's Brendan Allen with 12 wins at middleweight, there's (Nassourdine) Imavov. There's a lot of other guys in front of him. He just beat Bo Nickal and then he beat Whittaker, but to be honest, Whittaker wasn't even there.
"I feel like Whittaker is kind of in his last fights, and he wasn't there in the moment – he wasn't present. He was too pressured, you could see it in his face. It's not like you're winning over the Whittaker we know. You're winning over the Whittaker we've never seen before, so it doesn't put him in the position to go for the title or anything like that. I think he needs at least two more fights. And don't get me wrong –– the guy is doing great work. He's finishing his fights. He's very good on the ground. But I don't think he passed through some prime guys in the UFC in the top 10."
Borralho revealed that the UFC contacted him to be the official backup for the middleweight title fight between champion Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 headliner on Aug. 16 from Chicago. Just a few weeks later, Borralho is scheduled to face Nassourdine Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night main event Sept. 6 in Paris.
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