Caio Borralho traveled to South Africa seeking out UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, claiming the champion has been ignoring his callout challenges. Du Plessis quickly responded on social media, inviting Borralho to his gym for a sparring session on Friday at 9 AM, offering to film the session if Borralho wants. Borralho responded by telling Du Plessis to stop acting like a child and to sign a fight contract instead. Du Plessis questioned whether Borralho's name is even being discussed for his next title defense and challenged him to come to the gym to prove he's a real man.
Caio Borralho took his title pursuit to the other side of the world, traveling to South Africa to personally confront UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis after claiming the champion has been ignoring his callout attempts.
Borralho, ranked fourth in the middleweight division at 33 years old, carries an 18-2 record fighting out of Brazil under The Fighting Nerds banner. The southpaw stands six-foot-one with a 75-inch reach and has built a reputation for clean, accurate striking, connecting on 56 percent of his significant strikes while landing 3.44 per minute. His pressure campaign to land a title shot has clearly escalated well beyond social media posts.
Du Plessis, the reigning middleweight champion ranked second in the division and seventh pound-for-pound, holds a 23-3 record and fights out of South Africa for Team CIT. The 32-year-old switch-hitter stands six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach and produces an aggressive output of 5.18 significant strikes per minute while also averaging 2.22 takedowns per 15 minutes. He responded to Borralho's arrival by publicly inviting the Brazilian to his gym for a filmed sparring session Friday morning at 9 AM.
Borralho rejected the invitation, telling Du Plessis to stop acting like a child and to sign a fight contract instead. Du Plessis fired back by questioning whether Borralho's name is even part of the conversation for his next title defense, challenging him to visit the gym and prove himself.
Why it matters
- Borralho sits at ranked fourth in the middleweight division, making a title shot a legitimate near-term possibility
- Du Plessis publicly questioning whether Borralho is in the title picture signals the champion may have other opponents in mind
- The exchange raises the temperature on one of the division's most compelling potential matchups, pitting a high-volume champion against a striker with elite accuracy
