Caio Borralho isn’t convinced that Reinier de Ridder deserves a shot at the UFC middleweight title.
De Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has made a stellar start to his UFC career since signing with the promotion late last year. The Dutchman earned three impressive stoppage wins over Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland, and Bo Nickal, then followed up by outpointing former champion Robert Whittaker over five rounds in the main event at UFC Abu Dhabi last weekend.
Now ranked in the top five of the UFC middleweight division, the former ONE Championship two-division titleholder is rapidly climbing the ladder. But Caio Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) isn’t convinced that “RDR” has done enough to jump ahead of the other contenders at 185 pounds.
"That was a very, very close fight, but I think Whittaker didn't do enough to win this fight," Borralho said this week during an appearance on 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.”
Borralho — who is set to face Nassourdine Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in the main event at UFC Paris on September 6 — believes Robert Whittaker is no longer the dominant force he once was in the middleweight division. As a result, he argues that a win over the Australian shouldn’t hold significant weight in determining the next title challenger.
"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."
