Caio Borralho flew to South Africa to find Dricus Du Plessis after the champion allegedly stopped responding to his callouts. Du Plessis immediately responded on social media, inviting the Brazilian to his gym for a sparring session on Friday morning at 9 AM. The champion offered to film the session if Borralho wished, calling him a "nerd" and questioning whether he was truly a man. Borralho responded by telling Du Plessis to stop acting like a little boy and just sign a fight contract. Du Plessis countered by saying Borralho's name isn't even being discussed as a potential opponent for his next title defense.
Caio Borralho took his middleweight title pursuit to an unexpected extreme, flying to South Africa to confront champion Dricus Du Plessis in person after reportedly being ignored following repeated callouts.
Du Plessis, ranked second in the middleweight division and seventh pound-for-pound, holds a 23-3-0 record and fights out of Team CIT in South Africa. The 32-year-old switch-stance striker stands six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach and lands 5.18 significant strikes per minute, complementing his output with 2.22 takedown attempts per 15 minutes. He responded quickly to Borralho's arrival on social media, inviting the Brazilian to his gym for a sparring session on Friday morning at 9 AM and offering to film it. Du Plessis called Borralho a "nerd" and questioned whether he was genuinely willing to back up his words.
Borralho, ranked fourth in the division at 18-2-0, trains with The Fighting Nerds out of Brazil. The 33-year-old southpaw also stands six-foot-one with a 75-inch reach and posts a striking accuracy of 56 percent, among the sharper marks in the division. He fired back at Du Plessis, telling the champion to stop behaving like a child and simply sign a fight contract rather than trade barbs online. Du Plessis countered by claiming Borralho's name is not even part of the internal conversation around his next title defense.
Why it matters
- Du Plessis holds the middleweight title and any challenger must get through him, making this rivalry directly relevant to the division's near-term picture.
- Borralho's fourth-place ranking puts him on the fringe of title contention, and a confirmed booking would likely vault him into the top conversation.
- Both fighters share nearly identical physical dimensions, setting up a stylistically close contest between a high-volume switch-hitter and a precise southpaw with strong takedown credentials.
- The public confrontation adds pressure on matchmakers to address the callout, regardless of Du Plessis's claim that Borralho is not currently under consideration.
