Caio Borralho flew to South Africa to find Dricus Du Plessis after the champion allegedly stopped responding to his callouts. Du Plessis immediately reacted by inviting Borralho to his gym for a sparring session, suggesting they meet Friday at 9 AM and offering to film it. Du Plessis questioned whether Borralho's name is even being discussed as a potential opponent, telling him to "stop acting like a little boy" and challenging him to prove he's "really a man." Borralho responded by urging Du Plessis to simply sign a contract for an actual fight. The exchange highlights escalating tensions between the two middleweights.
Brazilian middleweight contender Caio Borralho took his frustration directly to Dricus Du Plessis's doorstep, flying to South Africa after claiming the champion had gone silent on his repeated callouts.
Borralho, 33, carries an 18-2-0 record and sits fourth in the middleweight rankings. Fighting out of The Fighting Nerds camp as a southpaw, he stands six-foot-one with a 75-inch reach and lands significant strikes at a rate of 3.44 per minute with a notable 56 percent striking accuracy — one of the sharper outputs in the division.
Du Plessis, the 32-year-old South African champion ranked second in the middleweight division and seventh pound-for-pound, holds a 23-3-0 record and trains out of Team CIT. The switch-stance finisher operates with high offensive volume, landing 5.18 significant strikes per minute and adding 2.22 takedown attempts per 15 minutes. His "Stillknocks" nickname reflects a finishing reputation that his stats support.
Rather than backing down from Borralho's bold move, Du Plessis responded immediately — inviting the Brazilian to his gym for a sparring session, proposing they meet on a Friday morning and offering to have the session filmed. At the same time, Du Plessis questioned whether Borralho's name was even genuinely in contention for a title shot, and told him to stop what he called childish behavior, daring him to prove himself like a man. Borralho kept his reply simple, calling on Du Plessis to skip the theater and sign a contract for a real fight.
Why it matters
- Du Plessis sits second in the middleweight rankings; a fight with the fourth-ranked Borralho would be a legitimate title defense matchup
- Both men are six-foot-one southpaw-or-switch strikers with comparable physical profiles, setting up a closely matched style contest
- The public confrontation adds pressure on the UFC to formally schedule the bout, with both fighters now visibly engaged
