UFC Vegas 58 Co-main First Look: Caio Borralho vs. Armen Petrosyan, Betting Picks, Odds and Predictions (Archive)
The UFC returns to our screens for another jam-packed Fight Night event. Middleweight contenders Caio Borralho and Armen Petrosyan will compete in the evening’s co-main event.
Read on for our complete betting guide taking a first look at Borralho and Petrosyan, including updated UFC odds and our free expert UFC picks, predictions, and analysis.
Caio Borralho vs. Armen Petrosyan
UFC Middleweight Co-Main Event Bout
Saturday, July 09, 2022 – 10:45 PM EDT at UFC APEX
Caio Borralho Profile
- Pro MMA Record: (11-1-0) (4 KOs, 3 submissions)
- Age: 29
- Height: 5'10"
- Reach: 75.0"
- Trains With: Fighting Nerds
- Origin Fighting Style: Jiu-Jitsu
With a professional MMA career that only began in 2014, 29-year-old Caio Borralho has fast-tracked himself to the highest level of the sport after facing countless setbacks.
Borralho underwent five shoulder surgeries during the initial three years of his pro career; this allowed him to compete on a mere four occasions. However, remaining injury-free since 2017, the Brazilian obtained the UFC contract he always dreamt of when finishing his Dana White Contender Series inside the first round.
The UFC debut of Borralho was pushed into a co-main event position when the Andre Muniz and Uriah Hall bout was canceled, and this weekend will be back-to-back co-main event slots for the prospect who promised fans he'll be the new face of Brazilian MMA.
Caio Borralho Available Odds: -202 at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline)
Armen Petrosyan Profile
- Pro MMA Record: (7-1-0) (6 KOs)
- Age: 31
- Height: 6'1"
- Reach: 75.0"
- Trains With: Academy MMA
- Origin Fighting Style: Kickboxing/Muay Thai
The UFC's middleweight division is stacked with elite-level strikers, including the current champion, Israel Adesanya. We can add another name to the long list of striking purists as the Armenian-born Armen Petrosyan is a new arrival to the 185lb division that boasts an impressive set of striking skills.
Petrosyan has been competing in professional mixed martial arts for just four years. Still, a kickboxing/muay thai career dating back to 2002 with more than 90 contests made his transition successful.
Overcoming Gregory "Robocop" Rodrigues in his UFC debut earlier this year was an extremely impressive arrival to the company. But can he make it 2-0 versus Brazilians in his first two UFC bouts this weekend?
Armen Petrosyan Best Available Odds: +172 at BetOnline
UFC Vegas 58: Borralho vs. Petrosyan Breakdown and Analysis
Borralho Fight Style and How Can Borralho Defeat Petrosyan?
Whilst he is the owner of a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and has trained with Demian Maia for many years, Borralho is just as skilled on the feet as he is on the ground.
Borralho's karate style displays a light-footed, effortless movement in his stand-up. He can finish the fight on the ground or in the stand-up, but when facing the long-life kickboxing skills of Petrosyan, taking this fight to the ground is potentially the best game plan for the Brazilian.
Petrosyan Fight Style and How Can Petrosyan Defeat Borralho?
Petrosyan will want to avoid the mat like it's hot lava. His bread and butter is striking; this is where he owns the best possibility of shining, but he also doesn't want to take Borralho's striking output lightly.
Stuffing the potential takedown attempts of Borralho would be a huge mental victory for Petrosyan. If he can secure this advantage early on, he could steer Borralho into engaging in a 3-round striking battle.
Caio Borralho vs. Armen Petrosyan Evloev Betting Prediction and UFC Vegas 58 Odds
The available odds at the top-rated sportsbooks favor Borralho, and I understand why he's the betting favorite.
He owns the more well-rounded skillset. However, I cannot justify the Brazilian's price tag at -202 as we're yet to see him compete versus a striker with Petrosyan's capabilities.
The durability and toughness of both men stand out to me, especially when the over/under has been set at one and ½ rounds. Whoever wins this contest, I envision all three rounds playing out in what could potentially be a close split decision.
UFC Vegas 58 Pick: Over 1 ½ Rounds (-165) [1.65u returns 1u profit] at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.