Nerd Show! Caio Borralho silences rival at UFC 326 press conference, issues challenge and taunts: 'Quitter'

Borralho at a UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

Caio Borralho took advantage of the pre-UFC 326 press conference to shine and promote himself. Last Thursday (5), in Las Vegas (USA), the Brazilian, who faces Reinier de Ridder in an extremely important middleweight bout (up to 83,9 kg), showed off his fight IQ and skill with the microphone in hand. So much so that the athlete simply silenced the Dutchman without resorting to threats and insults.

Alert, Borralho took advantage of his opponent's secrecy regarding his fight strategy and confronted him. Aware that De Ridder is a jiu-jitsu specialist, the Brazilian showed he wasn't falling for his game and, based on statistics, predicted that, as in other fights, De Ridder would try to take him to the ground, as that's where he excels. And, being a high-level grappler, 'Nerd' guaranteed he was prepared.

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It's true that Borralho acknowledged that De Ridder is a top middleweight, but he made a point of reminding everyone that he left a bad impression in his last appearance in the octagon. In October, the Dutchman tired against Brendan Allen and decided to retire from the fight, losing by technical knockout in the fourth round. Since UFC 326 marks RDR's return, the Brazilian challenged him to prove that he's not a quitter, as many have called him.

Check out the fighters' statements.

Reinier de Ridder : “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll try to fall on him. Yeah, maybe I’ll try to knock him down.”

Caio Borralho : "You attempted takedowns in your last five fights in under a minute. You're definitely going to try to take me down."

De Ridder: "Yes, I could"

Borralho: "I'm ready for this. I want this. I'm waiting."

Borralho: “I’m not going to talk about my strategy, but one thing I know is that in his last five fights he went for the takedown in under a minute. That’s data, that’s facts, and as a nerd, I work with facts.”

Borralho: “To be honest, I never said it would be an easy fight. RDR is a guy I respect a lot. I think he has a lot of skills, he's a good grappler and he was coming off big wins in the UFC. I respect that a lot. He's just a problem I need to solve and, as a Fighting Nerd, I'm going to solve the problem and get a 10 on this test. The question is, who are we going to see on Saturday night? Ridder or the one who quits?”

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