It’s not easy to get into the UFC’s top five, but Caio Borralho has done it in a relatively short time and without any blemish.

Borralho, a 31-year-old contender from Sao Paulo, Brazil, picked up the biggest win of his career on Saturday, a unanimous decision over former title contender Jared Cannonier. The victory improved his UFC record to 7-0 and immediately put his name in the middleweight title picture. Cannonier was ranked No. 5 in the division prior to the UFC Fight Night main event at the Apex in Las Vegas.

“I’ve been doing great things in the UFC for a long time, and it’s never been an easy road,” Borralho said. “All my opponents have been tough, and I think they’ve all brought out the best in me in this cage and made me the athlete that I am. … I’m the new face (of the division). On Tuesday, I want to see my name in the top five.”

All three judges gave Borralho a score of 49-45, 49-45 and 48-46. It was a convincing victory for the Brazilian, but it was not an easy one. Cannonier, who turned 40 this year, injured Borralho several times. He fired a stiff right hand through Borralho’s guard in the fourth inning, causing a cut under his right eye.

Borralho took it all in his stride, though, outpointing Cannonier in total strikes 141-84, according to UFC Stats. Borralho stymied Cannonier with leg kicks in the opening minutes, so much so that Cannonier changed his stance in the first round. Borralho put an exclamation point on the performance in the fifth, dropping Cannonier with a left hand and nearly finishing him with ground strikes.

It was another great performance from an athlete from the Fighting Nerds gym in Sao Paulo, who has been gaining attention over the past year. Carlos Prates, another student, became the first man to knock out Li Jingliang last week at UFC 305.

“We study this game a lot and put all our soul into it,” Borralho said. “Everything is on the line for us. … Anyone who sees (the gym’s trademark reading glasses) should be scared. We are the Fighting Nerds and we are coming to take over.”

Borralho, who signed with the UFC in 2021 after winning twice on Dana White’s Contender Series, didn’t hesitate and immediately called out reigning champion Dricus Du Plessis.

On the other hand, it’s a crossroads loss for Cannonier, who bounced back nicely from a failed title challenge in 2022 with back-to-back wins over Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori. Since those victories, however, he’s lost two in a row.

History was already written before the main event.

Gerald Meerschaert, 36, broke Anderson Silva’s middleweight record of 11 finishes in the division with a submission over Edmen Shahbazyan. Meerschaert earned the 12th finish by landing an arm-triangle choke in the final minute of the second round, moments after being taken down by Shahbazyan’s punches.