Jared Cannonier looks to return to the win column this weekend by turning back a UFC middleweight contender on the rise.
Caio Borralho has won six in a row to find himself in this position, but in Cannonier, he faces by far his toughest test to date.
Despite what fans saw from him last time out at UFC 301, where he stopped Paul Craig in devastating fashion, the Brazilian is better known for his grappling skills.
Given the high-level opposition that he has faced during his time competing at both middleweight and several other weight classes in the UFC, this isn’t something that is going to faze “The Killa Gorilla.”
Jared Cannonier Doesn’t Understand Why People Underestimate His Grappling
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie ahead of this weekend’s middleweight main event, Cannonier was asked whether, in his mind, this fight boils down to if he can stop Borralho from having success with his takedowns.
The 185-pound stalwart doesn’t have this point of view and isn’t afraid to let his opponent test his grappling if that’s the way things end up going. He believes that his ground game is slept on by the rest of the division, potentially because you very rarely see opponents try to take him down.
“If he ends up on the bottom, it’s not going to be too good for him down there either, so I got all the confidence in my ground game,” Cannonier said. “I don’t know why people think my ground game isn’t good. I haven’t been submitted in the UFC, I haven’t been submitted in my career.
“When I was green, I fought Glover Teixeira. I spent a lot of time underneath him and didn’t get tapped, and I was green as far as my grappling goes back then,” Cannonier continued. “I’m much better now. I’m attacking you guys. If you guys think you want to take me down, you’re more than welcome to try.”
Cannonier believes Borralho and the rest of the middleweight division could be in for a shock if the ground is where they think his weakness is.
