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 come spar at his gym, offering to let him post the sparring videos. Borralho declined the invitation and told Du Plessis to stop acting like a child and sign a contract instead. Du Plessis fired back asking what contract Borralho was referring to, questioning why his name would be in negotiations, and noting the gym was only 30 minutes away. Meanwhile, multiple insiders reported that a fight between Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman is being developed.
Caio Borralho made the trip to South Africa to personally call out UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, setting off a public back-and-forth between the two 185-pound contenders that has yet to produce any signed paperwork.
Du Plessis, ranked second in the middleweight division and seventh pound-for-pound, holds a 23-3-0 record and has built a reputation as one of the sport's most aggressive finishers. The 32-year-old South African fighting out of Team CIT carries a six-foot-one frame with a 76-inch reach and lands 5.18 significant strikes per minute. His response to Borralho's callout was characteristically combative — he invited the Brazilian to his gym, which he noted was only 30 minutes away, and offered to let him post the sparring footage publicly.
Borralho, ranked fourth at middleweight, turned down the offer and told Du Plessis to stop acting like a child and sign a contract instead. The 33-year-old Brazilian carries an 18-2-0 record fighting out of The Fighting Nerds camp. He stands six-foot-one with a 75-inch reach and posts a striking accuracy of 56 percent, the higher mark of the two men. His reply drew a sharp counter from Du Plessis, who questioned what contract Borralho was even referring to and why his name would be part of any negotiations.
The exchange is further complicated by reports — as yet unconfirmed — that Du Plessis is instead being developed for a fight against Kamaru Usman. Usman, the former welterweight king now ranked eighth at 170 pounds, holds a 21-4-0 record and carries a 76-inch reach of his own at six feet tall. The 39-year-old averages 2.82 takedowns per 15 minutes, the highest rate among the three fighters mentioned in connection with Du Plessis.
Why it matters
- Borralho sits at fourth in the division and a title shot would represent a significant step up in competition
- Du Plessis appearing in reported talks with Usman could push Borralho further down the line of challengers
- A switch-stance champion against a southpaw contender presents an intriguing stylistic puzzle that has yet to reach the contract stage
