Caio Borralho traveled to South Africa to call out middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis for a title fight. Du Plessis responded by inviting Borralho to his gym for sparring, offering to let him post videos of their sessions. When Borralho deflected and urged Du Plessis to sign a contract, the champion questioned why Borralho thinks he's in title negotiations and challenged him to show courage by actually coming to the gym. Multiple insiders reported that a fight between Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman is being developed instead. Separately, Shavkat Rakhmonov alarmed fans with a rehabilitation video showing him far from fighting shape, having not competed in over a year and a half.
