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 spar at his gym and offered to post the footage. Borralho replied telling Du Plessis to "stop acting like a child" and sign the contract. Du Plessis countered by questioning why Borralho assumes he's in title contention and challenged him to show courage by actually showing up to the gym, noting it was only 30 minutes away. Meanwhile, multiple insiders have reported that a fight between Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman is being discussed. In other news, Shavkat Rakhmonov concerned fans with rehabilitation footage showing him far from fighting condition, having not competed in over 18 months.
Brazilian middleweight contender Caio Borralho made a bold move by traveling to South Africa to publicly call out UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, setting off a sharp back-and-forth between the two fighters.
Borralho, 33, carries an 18-2 record and is currently ranked fourth in the middleweight division. Fighting out of The Fighting Nerds, the southpaw stands six-foot-one with a 75-inch reach and lands 3.44 significant strikes per minute at 56 percent accuracy. His grappling adds another dimension, averaging 1.28 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Du Plessis, the reigning middleweight champion ranked second in the division and seventh pound-for-pound at 32 years old, responded to the callout not by signing a contract but by inviting Borralho to come spar at his gym and offering to post the footage online. The South African holds a 23-3 record and is among the more active strikers in the division, landing 5.18 significant strikes per minute. He also questioned why Borralho considers himself the next title challenger, and pointedly noted that the gym was only 30 minutes away, daring him to show up.
Borralho fired back, telling Du Plessis to stop acting like a child and simply sign the contract.
Adding another layer of complexity, multiple insiders have reported that a potential matchup between Du Plessis and former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is currently under discussion, which could complicate Borralho's path to a title shot.
Why it matters
- Borralho at number four is pushing for a title shot, but Du Plessis publicly disputes his contender status
- A Du Plessis versus Usman negotiation, if confirmed, would sideline Borralho's ambitions entirely
- The public sparring invitation adds a personal edge that could fuel a future booking
- Separately, undefeated welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov, ranked third at 19-0 and 31 years old, has concerned fans after rehabilitation footage surfaced showing him well short of fighting condition, with the Kazakh having not competed in over 18 months
