Caio Borralho traveled to South Africa to challenge middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis to a fight. Du Plessis responded by inviting Borralho to come to his gym and spar, offering to let him post the footage. Borralho dismissed this as childish behavior and told Du Plessis to sign a contract instead. Du Plessis countered by questioning why Borralho believes his name is even being discussed in title negotiations and challenged him to show courage by actually showing up at the gym, which is 30 minutes away. Meanwhile, multiple insiders have reported that a bout between Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman is currently being developed, suggesting Borralho may not be next in line for a title shot.
Caio Borralho took his title ambitions directly to South Africa, traveling to the homeland of middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis to publicly call him out and demand a fight.
Du Plessis, ranked second in the middleweight division at 23-3-0, responded to the gesture not with a contract signing but with a sparring invitation, telling Borralho to come to his gym and offering to let him post the footage. The 32-year-old South African champion fights out of Team CIT and has built his reputation as a relentless pressure fighter, landing 5.18 significant strikes per minute and mixing in 2.22 takedown attempts per 15 minutes. His gym, he noted, is just 30 minutes from where Borralho made his callout.
Borralho, ranked fourth in the division at 18-2-0, dismissed the sparring offer as childish and pushed for Du Plessis to simply sign a contract. The 33-year-old Brazilian southpaw from The Fighting Nerds carries a 56 percent striking accuracy rate, the highest of the three fighters involved in this story, and has positioned himself as a legitimate contender over a strong recent run.
Du Plessis fired back by questioning why Borralho considers himself part of the title conversation at all, challenging him to show up at the gym if he truly has courage.
Why it matters
- Du Plessis reportedly has a bout with Kamaru Usman in development, which would push Borralho further down the queue regardless of his callout
- Usman, at 21-4-0 and ranked eighth at welterweight, would represent a cross-divisional or returning middleweight matchup for the champion
- Borralho's fourth-place divisional ranking makes his path to a title shot dependent on what happens above him, not on public confrontations abroad
- The public back-and-forth has done little to move negotiations, with Du Plessis making clear he does not view Borralho as his next mandatory challenger
