Jared Cannonier. Timothy D. Easley/Special to the Courier-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jared Cannonier, Caio Borralho to headline UFC Vegas 96

By Jaren Kawada | Last updated Aug 6, 2024 9:30 PM ET

On less than three weeks' notice, Caio Borralho will get his first UFC main event fight at UFC Vegas 96 when he takes on former title challenger Jared Cannonier.

While both fighters have fought recently, Cannonier will be making the quicker turnaround, having just fought in the main event of UFC Louisville in June. Though he lost that fight by fourth-round knockout to Nassourdine Imavov, the stoppage was mildly controversial with Cannonier visibly hurt by a punch but remained defensive on his feet, leading to most fans believing he was still in the fight.

Borralho last fought one month before Cannonier's main event and knocked out Paul Craig in the second round at UFC 301 for his first win over a ranked opponent.

The fight was announced by the UFC via social media on Tuesday, 18 days before the event's scheduled date of Aug. 24.

Top 15 middleweights will meet in the Octagon on August 24th!

Jared Cannonier vs @BorralhoCaio will headline #UFCVegas96! pic.twitter.com/BG1tZsPX6b
— UFC (@ufc) August 6, 2024

The loss to Imavov snapped a small two-fight win streak for Cannonier that included a dominant win over Marvin Vettori and a split decision nod over eventual champion Sean Strickland.

With the loss being his first since challenging Israel Adesanya for the belt at UFC 276, Cannonier is still ranked at No. 5 in the UFC middleweight division, giving Borralho — the No. 12 ranked contender — a valuable opportunity to potentially leap into title contention.

Borralho has yet to lose in the UFC with a 6-0 record in the promotion and has not lost since his second professional fight in 2015. Although he has often been criticized by fans for a lack of action in his wrestling-heavy fight style, the Fighting Nerds team captain has finished two of his last three opponents while earning a Performance of the Night bonus in both outings.

UFC Vegas 96 fight card

View the current fights scheduled for UFC Vegas 96 in accordance with the UFC website below. Bout order is not finalized and is subject to change.

Middleweight: (5) Jared Cannonier vs. (12) Caio Borralho

Womens strawweight: (9) Angela Hill vs. (11) Tabatha Ricci

Welterweight: (12) Neil Magny vs. Michael Morales

Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Gerald Meerschaert

Featherweight: Danny Silva vs. Dennis Buzukja

Middleweight: Zachary Reese vs. Jose Medina

Lightweight: Viacheslav Borshchev vs. James Llontop

Women's bantamweight: Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Josiane Nunes

Women's flyweight: Cong Wang vs. Victoria Leonardo

Jaren Kawada

Jaren Kawada is a sports writer based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and originally from Honolulu, Hawaii. Kawada has over five years of experience with his work also seen on Fantasy CPR, BetSided and Sportskeeda. Kawada is an alumnus of Butler University and in his free time enjoys training in kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

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