Caio Borralho traveled to South Africa to challenge Dricus du Plessis, who responded by inviting him to come to his gym for sparring and posting the videos. Borralho told du Plessis to stop acting like a child and sign the contract, while du Plessis questioned why Borralho thinks his name is even part of contract negotiations. Du Plessis emphasized that Borralho was only 30 minutes from the gym and challenged him to show up and do something. Meanwhile, a couple of insiders reported that a fight between du Plessis and Kamaru Usman is being developed. The post also mentions Shavkat Rakhmonov's concerning rehabilitation video after being away for over 1.5 years.
Dricus du Plessis and Caio Borralho have turned a public back-and-forth into something far more pointed, with Borralho traveling to South Africa to confront the middleweight contender directly and du Plessis responding by inviting him to settle it on the mats at his gym.
Du Plessis, 32, carries a 23-3-0 record and holds the number-two ranking in the middleweight division, also sitting seventh in the pound-for-pound standings. The South African fights out of Team CIT and is one of the busiest offensive fighters in the weight class, landing 5.18 significant strikes per minute while also averaging 2.22 takedowns per 15 minutes. When Borralho told him to stop acting like a child and sign the contract, du Plessis shot back by publicly questioning why Borralho believes his name is even part of any contract discussions, then called him out for being just 30 minutes from the gym and doing nothing about it.
Borralho, 33, is ranked fourth at middleweight and holds an 18-2-0 record fighting out of The Fighting Nerds. The Brazilian southpaw lands 3.44 significant strikes per minute at 56 percent accuracy and mixes in a steady takedown game at 1.28 per 15 minutes.
While that dispute plays out publicly, a separate report — unconfirmed at this stage — suggests that insiders believe a fight between du Plessis and former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is being developed behind the scenes.
Separately, a rehabilitation video involving unbeaten welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov has drawn attention. Rakhmonov, ranked third at welterweight with a perfect 19-0-0 record, has been sidelined for more than a year and a half, and the footage has raised concerns about his recovery timeline.
Why it matters
- Du Plessis and Borralho are ranked second and fourth at middleweight, making any matchup between them a genuine title eliminator
- The unconfirmed Usman report adds uncertainty to du Plessis's next move and complicates the divisional picture
- Rakhmonov's extended absence and the nature of his rehabilitation footage raise questions about when the undefeated Kazakh will return to the welterweight contender picture
