Caio Borralho traveled to South Africa to find UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, claiming the champion has been ignoring his callouts. Du Plessis responded immediately on social media, inviting Borralho to come to his gym for a sparring session on Friday morning at 9am, suggesting they could film it if desired. Borralho countered by telling Du Plessis to "stop acting like a little boy" and simply sign a fight contract. Du Plessis dismissed the idea that Borralho is even being discussed as a potential title challenger, and again challenged him to come to the gym to prove he's a real man.
Caio Borralho took his title pursuit literally, boarding a flight to South Africa to confront UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis after growing frustrated with what he described as the champion ignoring his callouts.
Borralho, 33, enters the confrontation as the fourth-ranked middleweight with an 18-2 record fighting out of The Fighting Nerds camp. The Brazilian southpaw stands six-foot-one with a 75-inch reach and has built a reputation for high striking accuracy, connecting on 56 percent of his significant strikes while averaging 3.44 per minute. His combination of striking and grappling has pushed him firmly into title contention territory.
Du Plessis, the reigning middleweight champion ranked second in the division and seventh pound-for-pound, responded swiftly on social media rather than staying silent. The 32-year-old South African, who carries a 23-3 record and operates out of Team CIT, is a relentless pressure fighter who lands 5.18 significant strikes per minute and also threatens with takedowns at a rate of 2.22 per 15 minutes. Rather than entertaining the spectacle, Du Plessis extended an invitation of a different kind — offering Borralho a sparring session at his gym Friday morning at 9am, with cameras welcome if desired.
Borralho fired back, telling Du Plessis to stop acting like a little boy and simply sign a fight contract. Du Plessis dismissed the notion that Borralho is even part of the conversation for a title shot and doubled down on the gym challenge, framing it as a test of whether the Brazilian is a real man.
Why it matters
- Borralho at ranked fourth and Du Plessis holding the belt, a title fight between them would be a natural next step at 185 pounds
- Du Plessis publicly denying Borralho is in the title discussion signals a potential rankings and promotional standoff
- The sharp contrast in styles — Borralho's accuracy-first southpaw approach versus Du Plessis's high-volume switch-stance aggression — makes the matchup genuinely compelling on paper
