Latest news with #CaioBorralho
The Sun
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
‘This game's over' – Paul Craig admits Dana White and Co. may wield UFC axe if he loses crunch Rodolfo Bellato clash
PAUL CRAIG will enter the cage this weekend with the weight of the world on his shoulders. The Scottish submission artist will make his 20th venture to the octagon early on Sunday morning at UFC Vegas 106. 7 7 7 And he'll do so in uncharted territory having lost his last three in a row, the worst skid of his near nine-year run in mixed martial arts' top promotion. Brazilian bruiser Rodolfo Bellato stands between the Airdrie assassin and a much-needed return to the win column in the final fight of his current contract. And he admits it could be curtains for his time as a fighter in MMA 's top promotion if he doesn't have his hand raised in the Sin City showdown. In an exclusive interview with SunSport, he said: "The way the UFC works is you need to be winning. That's what this sport is about, and what you do in that octagon. "It's not about all the extra media you do or your ability to chat. That's a very small part of this job. "It's about what happens in that octagon. And I do believe that coming off the three losses, with three of those losses being against three good opponents. "It wasn't like I had been beaten off no-names. I got beat off, Brendan Allen, who's in that top 15 and he's in that mix. "And I got beat off Caio Borralho who's the same. And some people say he's probably the next champion in that division. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 7 "And then when you look at Bo Nickal, I wasn't beaten. I beat myself in the Bo Nickal fight. You're always worried about your next contract. "And this is kind of one of these moments where if you don't perform on Saturday night against Rodolfo Bellato, there's a good chance that the UFC won't pick you back up. Conor McGregor explains reason for major career changes amid UFC 'plateau' as MMA return remains a mystery "So that fear is what kind of motivates me as well. "We've seen that when I fought Magomed Ankaleav and I got that victory in the last fight of my contract for that period. "And I'm coming to the same sort of moment in my life where this is all or nothing. "'Do you want to be a UFC fighter? Or do you want to go back to Monday [to Friday] nine-to-five and be a teacher or be working in a gym? Is that what you want to do as your job?' "And I'm like, 'You know what, I do believe there's a little bit left in me to be a UFC fighter and be a light heavyweight champion.' "So it's all or nothing come Saturday. "I would love to say you're going to see a different version of Paul Craig, but you never know what happens on that night. But I'm definitely going there out on my shield. And it's a victory I'm looking for." Paul's back may be up against the wall, but he has a habit of rising to the occasion when the going gets tough. Two of his best wins have come when he's suffered consecutive losses, the first being his Hail Mary stoppage of 205lbs champ Magomed Ankalaev and his beatdown of middleweight contender Andre Muniz. "When there is pressure, I do believe that's when you see the best Paul Craig," he said. "Somebody made a meme online and it's like, 'Paul Craig can beat anyone on any given night.' And it's true, I can beat anyone. 7 "If you put somebody in front of me and as long as I'm switched on and there's enough added external pressure, then I will rise to the occasion. "And I do believe this is going to be one of these moments." Paul will have to be the most "switched on" he's been in recent years to get the better of Dana White 's Contenders Series graduate Bellato, a hard-hitting former LFA light-heavyweight champion. Bellato's early handiwork in the UFC has impressed Paul, although he believes the Brazilian bruiser has shortcomings when it comes to fortitude. "He's an amazing MMA practitioner," Paul said of the 29-year-old. "He's coming off a draw. "He's working with guys like Alex Pereira. He's got a very good jiu-jitsu ground game and he's got a very good stand-up striking game. "But what he's not got is he's not got that heart of a warrior. He's not got that Celtic blood in him that runs deep. "And I do believe that's what we're going to show on Saturday night. "That ability to pick ourselves back up and keep driving forward and looking for our victories." Victory over Bellato with his proverbial back up against the wall will not only save Paul's UFC bacon, it'll stop him from walking away from the sport entirely. And the magnitude of the do-or-die desert dust-up will continue to weigh heavily on his mind until the dust has settled on the Apex clash. He said: "It needs to be a victory for the UFC career-saving moment. This is the last fight on my contract. I do want to keep being a fighter. "I do believe, as I get a little bit older, that I'm getting better, skill-wise, with regards to jiu-jitsu. I'm always learning. "I do believe that I'm a much better version of a mixed martial artist than I was back when I first started. And that's the thing that keeps me in this sport. "As long as I can keep getting better, then I'll keep staying in this sport. "And as we said, there's a lot of pressure coming off of three losses. I need the win or this game's over for Paul Craig in the UFC."
USA Today
23-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Caio Borralho predicts late finish or 'domination' of Khamzat Chimaev in possible UFC bout
Caio Borralho predicts late finish or 'domination' of Khamzat Chimaev in possible UFC bout Khamzat said yes! The only thing that makes sense is the Interim belt! This fight is gonna be bigger than him vs Dricus! Marks my words — Caio Borralho (@BorralhoCaio) April 20, 2025 Caio Borralho is confident he could outlast Khamzat Chimaev in a potential UFC fight. With UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis rumored to be sidelined due to injury, Borralho called out No. 1 contender Chimaev, who has entertained the idea by going back-and-forth with the Brazilian on social media. If the fight was to materialize, Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) thinks he can weather an early storm, drag Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) to the later rounds, and possibly finish him. "I think the critical point is the first round," Borralho told Submission Radio. "I think that's the round that I need to not make a mistake at all. The first round is the dangerous one, and it's the critical point. After this round, I'm not saying that he is going to go down in his performance or anything like that, but that's when I'm going up in my performance. "I think I can still, in the second round, defend some takedowns – even get taken down and get back up and all that – don't give my back or anything like that that he likes, and then after that start hitting him with some body shots, with some jabs that I'm doing very good with, some calf kicks and all that. And then after that, the fight is getting better and better for me. Maybe a knockout in the fourth round or fifth, or maybe a good decision and domination in the last three rounds." Chimaev posted a picture of him carrying Borralho in training, as well as one in which he's choking him out. Borralho admits he got "beat up" in their sessions, but explains that he was there to help him and serve as a good training partner by going through the motions. 😳Khamzat Chimaev shares a photo of him submitting Caio Borralho 📸 @KChimaev ▫️ — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 21, 2025 "That was far from a sparring session," Borralho said. "That was a video of him drilling positions that Allan Finfou was coming to him. Actually, that video is from 'Embedded' so we were filming for the UFC. We were doing drilling – he was taking the back, doing a rear-naked choke. Look at that: I didn't even defend the takedown. It was a drilling session."
USA Today
13-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Gregory Rodrigues unsure Dricus Du Plessis remains UFC middleweight champion by end of year
LAS VEGAS – Gregory Rodrigues expects the new wave of talent to pose problems for UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) retained his middleweight title by defeating Sean Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) in this past Saturday's UFC 312 main event at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. But with the likes of Khamzat Chimaev, Nassourdine Imavov, and Caio Borralho looming, Rodrigues doesn't see Du Plessis' reign as middleweight champion lasting. 'It was good. It was good for DDP,' Rodrigues told reporters at Wednesday's media day. 'He did his job. Before the fight, my thought was he'll still be the champion, and he did. But I don't know if he's going to hold this belt to the end of this year. He's going to fight Chimaev, right? It's a good match, but his will is still there, right? He's the champion, he's young. 'But I don't know if he has the quality to continue with the belt. The division has changed, so many good names, and they're coming up. (Nassourdine) Imavov is right there, Caio Borralho. So many good guys coming up. Me, a couple more days and I'll be there. The division is starting to get exciting, and I'm excited to live in this perfect moment.' Rodrigues (16-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will look to enter the conversation himself when he takes on former title challenger Jared Cannonier (17-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) in Saturday's UFC Fight Night 251 (ESPN+) headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. 'I believe that's the perfect time for this fight,' Rodrigues said. 'I respect Jared Cannonier, I respect everything he did. He fought for the belt already, but I know who I am, and I know where I want to go. So he's going to be one more step in my journey to be the champion of his division.' For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 251.
