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The UFC's latest Fight Night went down at the Las Vegas APEX last night. Overall, it turned out to be a largely decent show.
UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Caio Borralho featured a handful of excellent finishes, as well as a breakout showing in the headliner.
Sure, it's an event that might wind up being overshadowed as the promotion rolls on, but for now, it's well worth discussing.
Here are five takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Caio Borralho.
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#5. Tabatha Ricci is the dark horse at 115 pounds
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It wasn't really a breakout showing in a sense that the fight wasn't massively entertaining and didn't end in a finish, but Tabatha Ricci definitely made her mark last night.
'Baby Shark' pushed the pace hard against Angela Hill, and ended up taking a clear-cut decision, snapping the unlikely winning run of 'Overkill'.
Ricci not only landed the better strikes in the early going of the fight, but as it went deeper, she showed the other facets of her game too, most notably her takedowns. Given Hill's grappling improvements recently, to see her largely nullified on the ground was a big statement from the Brazilian.
Where does Ricci's ceiling lie? With six wins in seven strawweight bouts under her belt, it's likely that she'll crack the top ten next week. It's time to throw 'Baby Shark' in with an elite-level foe, and see if she will sink or swim.
#4. Gerald Meerschaert might be the most unlikely UFC record-holder of all time
The list of UFC records is littered with the names of some of the biggest stars of all time, including Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre and Conor McGregor.
Remarkably, though, a promotional record was broken last night by one of the most unlikely names.
Who holds the record for the most finishes in UFC middleweight history? It isn't Anderson Silva, or even Rich Franklin or Israel Adesanya. Instead, after last night, it's Gerald Meerschaert.
'GM3' delivered his record 12th finish inside the octagon by submitting Edmen Shahbazyan, putting the squeeze on him in the second round with an arm triangle choke.
The win was a come-from-behind one for Meerschaert, who looked outgunned throughout the fight and even went down off a nasty body shot early in the second round.
However, 'GM3' showed serious toughness to survive, and once he secured a takedown, it was apparent that 'Golden Boy' had blown his wad, and the submission soon followed.
The fight was almost a microcosm of Meerschaert's career in general. He might have those 12 finishes to his name, but he's also lost nine fights in the octagon too and has been finished on five occasions.
Realistically, 'GM3' will never be a title contender, but for now at least, he's part of UFC history, something few fighters can boast.
#3. Michael Morales is now more than a prospect, he's a contender
Over his decade-long UFC career, Neil Magny has become the welterweight division's consummate gatekeeper.
'The Haitian Sensation' only loses to elite-level fighters, and has turned back attempts to break into the upper echelon from the likes of Mike Malott, Daniel Rodriguez and Phil Rowe.
The big question around his bout with the unbeaten Michael Morales, then, was whether the native of Ecuador could crack the code and break into the elite level.
The answer to that question turned out to be an emphatic yes.
Morales needed less than a full round to take out Magny, becoming the first man to finish him with strikes since 2018.
A spinning elbow dropped the TUF veteran to the ground, and Morales quickly pounced, advanced into back mount, and smashed Magny with strikes until the referee had to step in.
Morales is now 5-0 in the octagon and 17-0 overall and should find himself with a number next to his name next week. With the welterweight division feeling quite open right now, the Ecuadorian could easily surge towards the title in the near future. Based on this showing, the sky is his limit.
#2. The TUF system has been overshadowed by DWCS and needs to be retired for good
Two of the better finishes at last night's event came in the two finals of TUF 32. In the middleweight final, Ryan Loder used the mounted crucifix made famous by the legendary Matt Hughes to dispatch Robert Valentin.
In the featherweight final, meanwhile, Mairon Santos unleashed a violent knockout to down Australia's Kaan Ofi. It's arguable that Santos deserved a $50k bonus for his efforts, in fact.
However, the big question is whether the TUF system even works any more in terms of unearthing prospects.
After all, the last four TUF champions (Muhammad Usman, Julianna Miller, Kurt Holobaugh and Brad Katona) have gone on to very little success.
More to the point, the days of high-level prospects like Diego Sanchez, Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping emerging through the reality show are now long-gone.
Instead, they either head onto Dana White's Contender Series, or are already picked up by the UFC or a rival like the PFL.
The truth is that the success of DWCS has rendered TUF obsolete. With any luck, White and company come to the same conclusion and retire the tired series for good.
#1. Caio Borralho is a genuine contender for the UFC middleweight title
Last night's big breakout showing definitely came in the headline bout. Caio Borralho clearly outpointed former middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier over five rounds, and should now be recognised as a true contender at 185 pounds.
'The Natural' came into the bout unbeaten in the UFC at 6-0, but while his ground game was unquestionably great, there were some question marks over his ability to stand with a higher-level foe.
Those questions were firmly answered last night. For the most part of the fight, Borralho didn't even need to take Cannonier down. Instead, he beat 'The Killa Gorilla' up on the feet with his combination work and leg kicks.
In the fifth round, with time running out, 'The Natural' even came close to finishing his opponent. He dropped him with a big one-two, and ended up running out of time to seal the deal with a TKO or submission.
Sure, at 40 years old Cannonier might be coming towards the end of his career, but that didn't make Borralho's showing any less impressive.
The win should move the Brazilian into the top five, then, and given his skills and current form, there's no reason why 'The Natural' can't make a run at the middleweight title in 2025.
One thing is for sure, though - nobody is going to sleep on him again.
