Caio Borralho traveled to South Africa to find Dricus Du Plessis, claiming the champion has been ignoring his callouts. Du Plessis responded immediately on social media, inviting Borralho to his gym for a sparring session on Friday morning at 9 AM. Du Plessis suggested they could film the sparring if Borralho wanted, and challenged him to stop acting like a little boy and prove he is a real man. He also dismissed the idea that Borralho is being discussed as a potential title challenger. Borralho countered by telling Du Plessis to just sign a contract for an actual fight.
A public back-and-forth between middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and contender Caio Borralho escalated on April 28 after Borralho flew to South Africa in an effort to confront the champion directly, claiming Du Plessis had been ignoring his callouts.
Du Plessis, 32, holds a 23-3-0 professional record and is ranked second in the middleweight division and seventh in the UFC pound-for-pound standings. The South African fighter out of Team CIT stands six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach and fights out of a switch stance. He lands 5.18 significant strikes per minute and averages 2.22 takedowns per 15 minutes, making him one of the more well-rounded champions in the division.
Borralho, known as "The Natural," carries an 18-2-0 record and sits fourth in the middleweight rankings. The 33-year-old Brazilian southpaw trains with The Fighting Nerds and also stands six-foot-one with a 75-inch reach. He posts a striking accuracy of 56 percent and lands 3.44 significant strikes per minute, numbers that reflect a precise, measured offensive approach.
Rather than shying away from the confrontation, Du Plessis responded quickly on social media, inviting Borralho to his gym for a sparring session the following Friday morning at nine o'clock. The champion offered to have the session filmed and challenged Borralho to prove himself in that setting, while also dismissing the notion that Borralho is a serious candidate for a title shot. Borralho pushed back, making clear he wants a sanctioned fight, not a sparring invitation.
Why it matters
- Du Plessis and Borralho are the top two ranked middleweights not currently holding the belt, making any matchup between them a likely title eliminator.
- Borralho's trip to South Africa signals genuine frustration at being passed over in the title contender conversation.
- The stylistic contrast between Du Plessis's high-volume, multi-dimensional game and Borralho's accuracy-focused striking sets up an intriguing matchup if the UFC moves to formalize the rivalry.
