Caio Borralho vs. Paul Craig booked for event expected to be UFC 301

Two UFC-ranked middleweights, Caio Borralho and Paul Craig, will square off at an event targeted for Brazil.

Middleweights [autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag] and [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] will collide at an event expected to be UFC 301.

UFC 301 is targeted for May 4 in Rio de Janeiro, though the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous since the UFC has yet to make an official announcement. Ag. Fight was first to report the matchup.

Borralho (15-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has not lost in 15 straight appearances. His UFC wins to date include Gadzhi Omargadzhiev, Armen Petrosyan, Makhmud Muradov, Michal Oleksiejczuk and Abus Magomedov.

Craig (17-7-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) is 1-1 since he dropped to middleweight in mid-2023. He defeated Andre Muniz by TKO in his divisional debut before he was submitted by Brendan Allen in his most recent appearance.

With the addition, the UFC 301 lineup includes:

  • Caio Borralho vs. Paul Craig
  • Drakkar Klose vs. Joaquim Silva
  • Kevin Borjas vs. Alessandro Costa

5 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 231: Positive reviews for Jailton Almeida and Derrick Lewis

Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 231, including positive words for Jailton Almeida and Derrick Lewis.

What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 231 at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo? Here are a few post-fight musings …

UFC Fight Night 231 post-event facts: Jailton Almeida sets ground control time record

Check out all the facts from UFC Sao, which saw Jailton Almeida log a record amount of ground control time over Derrick Lewis in the main event.

The UFC’s return to Sao Paulo after more than four years proved to be a forgettable one on Saturday, with UFC Fight Night 231 seeing six of 10 bouts go the distance with three canceled fights in the 48 hours leading up.

One of the fights go to the scorecards was the main event, [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) earned a lopsided but somewhat underwhelming unanimous decision over [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (27-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) to remain undefeated in heavyweight competition.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 231.

UFC Fight Night 231 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2023 total passes $7 million

UFC Fight Night 231 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

SAO PAULO – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 231 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $145,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 231 took place at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Brazil. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 231 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kaynan Kruschewsky[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag]: $4,500
vs. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Denise Gomes[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Eudarda Moura[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Montserrat Conejo[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Kaue Fernandes[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2311 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $7,033,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,552,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

Caio Borralho def. Abus Magomedov at UFC Fight Night 231: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Caio Borralho’s unanimous decision win over Abus Magomedov at UFC Fight Night 231 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 231 at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. (Photos by Jason da Silva, USA TODAY Sports)

UFC’s Caio Borralho explains how watching Conor McGregor turned him into a southpaw

Rising UFC middleweight Caio Borralho took inspiration from Conor McGregor’s fighting style.

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag] took inspiration from [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s fighting style.

Unbeaten in the UFC, the rising middleweight is on an 11-fight winning streak. Borralho (14-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) cites former two-division champions Georges St-Pierre and McGregor as inspirations, and says he even changed his striking stance because of McGregor.

“I was orthodox then I changed to southpaw watching him,” Borralho said on the “Fitz Nation” podcast. “Because of Conor, I was like, ‘Man, I need to be southpaw. I need to train southpaw.’ So, I started training only southpaw for years and years. Now I’m more southpaw than orthodox because of him.”

Borralho faces Abus Magomedov (25-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 231 main card at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. The event streams on ESPN+.

Borralho has taken the necessary steps to reach his championship goal by training with the likes of middleweight champ Sean Strickland and undefeated Khamzat Chimaev, but he wants to leave his mark on the sport in a specific way.

“For sure I want to be a world champion,” Borralho said. “That’s for sure. That’s the main goal when I started MMA is to be a world champion. … I don’t want to be the greatest pound-for-pound king or the greatest of all time. I just want to be remembered as one of the most cerebral fighters in the game, one of the smartest fighters just like St-Pierre. If I’m remembered just like him, I’m happy with it.”

[lawrence-related id=2692211,2691918,2691880,2638693]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

UFC Fight Night 231 pre-event facts: Derrick Lewis already has all-time KO record. Now he’s chasing more.

The best facts and figures about UFC Fight Night 231, where Derrick Lewis looks to build on his knockout record with another main event.

The UFC returns to Sao Paulo for the first time in nearly four years on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 231, which takes place at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera and streams on ESPN+.

Heavyweight contenders will clash in the main event. Surging contender [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) meets two-time title challenger [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) in a five-round bout.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 231.

* * * *

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 2-8)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Oct. 2-8.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 17-23)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from July 17-23

Now 4-0 in the UFC, Caio Borralho calls out Derek Brunson: ‘It’s time to dance, Brunson’

Caio Borralho sets his sights on Derek Brunson after his UFC Fight Night 223 submission win.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag] is looking to climb the rankings in the UFC’s middleweight division, and he’s already got a name in mind that can help the escalation.

The Brazilian rising contender called out veteran Derek Brunson following his most recent feat inside the octagon. Borralho (14-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) kept his unbeaten status in the UFC and submitted Michal Oleksiejczuk (18-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) in their co-main event at UFC Fight Night 223 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“I called out Derek Brunson,” Borralho told reporters backstage at the UFC Fight Night 223 post-fight news conference. “I heard he doesn’t have a fight. I called him out before my last fight against Makhmud (Muradov) and he was saying, ‘OK, go win two more fights and then we can dance.’ Right now, I think the music is on, so it’s time to dance, Brunson.”

Ideally, Borralho, who’s expecting his first child with his wife, would like to return in August because the baby is expected in September.

[lawrence-related id=2638456]

The victory over Oleksiejczuk marked Borralho’s fourth win in the octagon and first finish since joining the promotion. Borralho was tired of the criticism around his finishing ability and says the performance proves that he is dangerous.

“I feel amazing and blessed,” Borralho said. “I shut up all the doubters that said that I couldn’t finish a fight. I don’t need to say anything anymore.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030788]