The MMA Daily

The co-main event comes in the Middleweight division, as Caio Borralho takes on Armen Petrosyan. Coming off a successful UFC debut, Borralho finds himself featured in a rare opportunity. A winner of ten straight, the Brazilian with an impressive performance, could very well see himself fast-tracked into fighting a big name next. Meanwhile, Petrosyan too comes into this fight with a huge opportunity. With all eyes on him and the chance to create buzz, the Armenian will look to continue his rise up the Middleweight division. Having defeated Gregory Rodrigues in his UFC debut, with a victory here, there is a possibility that Petrosyan could jump into the top fifteen.

While I’m surprised that this is the co-main event, it’s a big opportunity for two men who would likely be buried on the prelims. Borralho was solid in his debut, showing off his excellent grappling abilities to the tune of ten minutes of control time. With solid cardio, and good striking, the UFC may have found something special at 185 pounds. The same could be said about the former Kickboxer Petrosyan, who defeated a top Middleweight in Gregory Rodrigues in his debut. Only eight fights into his career, Petrosyan finds himself closing in on a big fight.

As for a prediction, I have Barralho winning. While Petrosyan is the better striker and proved his toughness in his UFC debut, he still is vulnerable to being taken down. Rodrigues, who is a solid grappler, for whatever reason waited until later in the fight to take Petrosyan down. There was little resistance when he did such either. Given Borralho’s grappling and ability to control foes on the ground, I believe the Brazilian has a significant edge in the fight. So with that said, I predict that Borralho will win via decision.