Caio Borralho dismisses Reinier de Ridder being in UFC title picture, discusses Dutchman's win over Robert Whittaker

Caio Borralho recently shared his two cents on Reinier de Ridder being part of the UFC middleweight title picture and reacted to the Dutchman's win over Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi last month.

After five rounds of action, 'The Dutch Knight' beat Whittaker via split decision at UFC Abu Dhabi last month. This marked de Ridder's fourth consecutive win in the promotion. Before Whittaker, de Ridder notably beat the fast-rising Bo Nickal via second-round TKO at UFC Des Moines in May.

Given his resume in the UFC, many believe de Ridder to be firmly in the title conversation. However, Borralho doesn't think so. In an interview with Submission Radio, the Brazilian reacted to de Ridder's win over Whittaker and said:

"That was a very, very close fight, but I think Whittaker didn't do enough to win this fight. I think De Ridder actually won the fight even if it was close, but I don't think this is a fight that makes him a backup or in a position to be coming for the belt, or even the loser of Dricus [Du Plessis[ and [Khamzat] Chimaev."

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He continued:

"There are at least three other guys in front of him in the division. There's Anthony Hernandez, there's me, there's Brendan Allen with 12 wins at middleweight, there's [Nassourdine] Imavov. There's a lot of other guys in front of him. He just beat Bo Nickal, and then he beat Whittaker, but to be honest, Whittaker wasn't even there." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Watch the full interview below:

Reinier de Ridder calls for a title opportunity after Robert Whittaker win

After narrowly outpointing Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi last month, Reinier de Ridder announced that he considered himself in the middleweight title picture. Reinier notably defied the odds as the betting underdog.

In a post-fight interview, 'The Dutch Knight' shared his thoughts on his future and made it clear that he was ready for a championship opportunity. He said:

"I’m a top-five fighter in the world; that’s a crazy thing to say. We’ll see where everything lands in the division over the next couple of months, but I’m ready to challenge for a title."

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Edited by Nishant Zende.