Caio Borralho cashed in on a co-main event bid earlier tonight (Sat., April 29, 2023) at UFC Vegas 72 live on ESPN2/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the rising middleweight contender stopped veteran fighter and former light heavyweight, Michal Oleksiejczuk, via second-round submission (rear-naked choke).
Borralho is the better grappler, but Oleksiejczuk did well in the early going to limit the clinch exchanges and let his hands put the former Contender Series winner on his back foot. Oleksiejczuk was landing at a good clip and seemed to steal considerable momentum after the first.
In the second, Borralho timed a perfect double-leg takedown and put Oleksiejczuk’s back along the cage. Borralho worked hard for the back and threatened with the rear-naked choke. Oleksiejczuk, who has been submitted three other times in his professional career, held on before giving into the tap.
Check out the stoppage above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
Borralho, 30, is now 4-0 under the UFC banner and unbeaten in his last 14 fights overall. After this victory, Borralho called out middleweight contender Derek Brunson to a long-awaited meeting. That would be a huge step up in competition for Borralho, but one hell of a way to kick in the door to the middleweight top 15.
For complete UFC Vegas 72 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.