Sooo ... About Last Night

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Last night (Sat., Aug. 24, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned home to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 96. This was a fully standard Apex card. The main event was an interesting and relevant match up, a potential changing of the guard battle between veteran contender Jared Cannonier and rising threat Caio Borralho. The rest of the card was the usual mix of Contenders Series prospects and unranked veterans accompanied by a pair of Ultimate Fighter (TUF) finale matches.

Let’s take a look back over at UFC Vegas 96’s best performances and techniques:

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A New Title Threat Emerges

Borralho seriously impressed in his five-round victory over Cannonier.

Did anyone expect the grappling ace to willingly stand with the knockout artist for 25 minutes? Borralho didn’t shoot a single takedown until a minute into the fifth, and that was a half-hearted effort. He didn’t need to, because his jab and kicking game were pinning Cannonier at range and forcing big movements from “Killa Gorilla.”

Against his most dangerous opponent yet, Borralho’s stand up has never looked better. His jab was downright snappy, his kicks did a ton of damage, and his counters were still on point. In previous fights, Borralho has shown solid fundamentals but often been hesitant to engage fully — that was no problem here.

After this win, Borralho looks like the complete package as a Middleweight contender. Not only does he have plus skills everywhere, but the Brazilian is huge for the division and has a great gas tank. Since his physical gifts match up with Dricus Du Plessis’ own athletic tools better than most, perhaps Borralho could be the man to actually take advantage of Du Plessis’ wonky fundamentals?

Suddenly, it’s a very interesting match up.

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Two TUF Champions Crowned

The Middleweight finale between Ryan Loder and Robert Valentin took place almost entirely on the canvas, but it was still plenty fun.

Loder scored a big takedown right off the bat, but the All-American wrestler lost top position while cranking away on a scarf hold armlock. Valentin found his way to the back in the ensuing scramble and put Loder in a threatening choke, but the wrestler eventually fought his way back into top position. He finished the round there throwing elbows, but both men had their moments.

The second round started off with another wild scramble, and Loder landed in top position once more. This time, he advanced passed the guard more patiently and pinned Valentin’s arm again. Rather that attack the submission, he secured the crucifix and kept chipping away with elbows. That weren’t huge strikes, but he was landing hard and making it clear that Valentin wasn’t able to escape the position.

The referee was forced to intervene.

Marion Santos vs. Kaan Olfi decided the Featherweight division finale, and it proved to be a very one-sided clash. Almost immediately, Santos answered Olfi’s forward pressure with a crisp overhand right that was just thrown perfectly, snappy and off-the-center line. With a single shot, Santos set the tone and demonstrated himself the sharper striker.

Santos controlled range really well throughout the first, keeping his feet beneath him while moving laterally and planting with power shots. Olfi was getting touched up, and credit to the Aussie, he know he had to make something happen. He tried to press Santos into the fence and get his wrestling going, but a simultaneous trade of right hands saw Olfi creamed by the follow-up left hook of Santos.

Olfi looks to be a decent, UFC-level Featherweight. The 24-year-old Brazilian, however, very much appears to be a genuine blue chip prospect and worthy TUF winner.

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Michael Morales Makes A Statement

About a minute into Morales vs. Neil Magny, I said out loud to nobody in particular, “Magny is going to do it again, huh?” On his first takedown attempt of the night — with an already damaged lead leg, somehow — Magny had managed to work behind Morales in the clinch and lock his hands. That’s Magny’s best position, the type of wrestling achievement that normally takes him way longer and way more punishment to score.

It was a bad omen for Morales, yet it didn’t turn out to matter at all. Magny couldn’t drag the incredibly strong Ecuadorian to the floor no matter what he tried. Eventually, Magny’s grip began to break, and Morales capitalized with a wild spinning elbow that sent the veteran flying into the canvas. Cool as could be, Morales took top position, advanced into mount and back mount, then pounded his opponent into dust. He didn’t give Magny a chance to recover and forced the referee’s hand with a barrage of strikes. Just like that, the hyper athletic young talent breaks into the Top 15.

He looks like a hard man to beat.

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GM3 Does It Again

Edmen Shahbazyan was fighting really well.

For the first five minutes, “Golden Boy” took advantage of his speed and youth to remain in the driver’s seat. He shucked off a couple takedown attempts with absolute ease and was sticking Gerald Meerschaert with hard long distance strikes. The pace was very manageable, and Meerschaert was taking a lot of damage.

Alas, Shahbazyan made a critical mistake: he tried to finish “GM3.” A slick body shot counter floored Meerschaert, and Shahbazyan threw probably 100 ground strikes trying to convince the referee to finish. The problem is that Meerschaert is a veteran, kept his hands high, and was sure to move anytime the referee warned him.

After a couple minutes, Shahbazyan’s fatal flaw of fatigue rose its head. Back on his feet, Meerschaert swarmed his younger foe with power punches then ducked into a takedown. Almost immediately, he was on top and attacking an arm triangle choke. In the process, he secured his 11th UFC tapout win and 12th stoppage overall, which sets the Middleweight record.

Not too shabby!

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Additional Thoughts

• Wang Cong defeats Victoria Leonardo via first-round knockout (HIGHLIGHTS): Talk about an impressive debut! Cong’s first trip to the UFC Octagon lasted just about 60 seconds before a cracking 1-2 floored her opponent for good. That’s too short to learn much, but the primary lesson is clear: Cong has POWER! The decorated Sanda fighter and amateur boxer is absolutely one to watch at 125-pounds. At 32 years of age, there’s no time to waste, and Cong appropriately demanded a main card slot for her next appearance.

For complete UFC Vegas 96: “Cannonier vs. Borralho” results and play-by-play, click HERE!