At UFC 326, Caio Borralho feels he has studied the tape intently and is braced for a really particular model of Reinier de Ridder at T‑Cellular Area in Las Vegas. The middleweight co‑essential occasion slot pits Borralho, a 7–1 UFC fighter and chief of the Preventing Nerds group, in opposition to a 21–3 former two‑division ONE Championship champion who arrived within the UFC with a six‑struggle win streak and a 14–submission file. Each males are coming off setbacks which have altered their place within the division, which provides additional weight to the result.
Caio Borralho Talks Reinier de Ridder Forward of UFC 326
Borralho’s first loss within the UFC got here in opposition to Nassourdine Imavov in a essential‑occasion slot in Paris, after an undefeated run stretching greater than a decade. He has framed a powerful efficiency in opposition to de Ridder as a solution to reset his title trajectory, with ambitions to struggle twice extra earlier than the late summer time of 2026 and push again into rivalry.
De Ridder, meanwhile, misplaced his final UFC outing to Brendan Allen at UFC Vancouver, when his nook stopped the motion after a pointy decline in efficiency that many attributed to extreme fatigue and a potential underlying medical problem. That end result splintered his standing as a close to‑untouchable middleweight and led critics to label him a “fraud,” prompting de Ridder to explain UFC 326 as a “100% redemption” alternative.
Within the pre‑struggle media window, Borralho quoted again at analysts who may count on de Ridder to completely change his strategy, saying:
“We will all the time take away from each struggle that somebody does. He can take away from my struggle with Imavov, the place I wasn’t 100%, however he can take one thing. I simply assume he’s sort of mendacity to himself or one thing like that. He reveals numerous patterns that he’s proven within the final struggle and in all his different fights. He’s a fantastic fighter, awkward model on the toes, a strain fighter, very, superb on the bottom, and I respect him as a fighter rather a lot. I’m anticipating the most effective Reinier de Ridder the world has ever seen.”
Borralho’s confidence in his learn of the Dutchman is rooted in his personal resumé as a finisher; 9 of his 17 wins have come by stoppage, evenly cut up between knockouts and submissions. His placing résumé contains notable wins over Paul Craig and Jared Cannonier, performances he invoked when breaking down de Ridder’s doubtless sport plan. Realizing that analytics from de Ridder’s earlier matches present early takedowns and grappling engagements, Borralho predicted a direct path from the opening bell:
“100% he’s going to shoot. If he doesn’t shoot, I believe he’s out of his thoughts. He is aware of I’m already a striker, among the best strikers within the division. Take a look at what I did to Cannonier, have a look at what I did to Paul Craig. 100% he’s going to attempt to take me down and choke me. That’s the one method he can get a win on Saturday. For those who have a look at the information in his final 5 fights, he was already grappling and he shot earlier than one minute in each struggle. So 100% he’s going to shoot once more.”
Borralho’s stance is that he is not going to faux these patterns immediately vanish. He’s prepared. For de Ridder, the mandate is easy: win cleanly, below management, and show over a complete struggle that the “finest Reinier de Ridder” Borralho is speaking about is, in reality, the identical model the Dutchman must be with the intention to climb again right into a title window.
