Caio Borralho had a straightforward reaction when the UFC booked him against Yousri Belgaroui for UFC 334: he reached out to Alex Pereira right away.
Borralho said the exchange was calm and respectful, even though the matchup has a personal layer. Borralho and Pereira have trained together multiple times in the past, while Belgaroui is aligned with Pereira at Glover Teixeira's team in Danbury. That connection made the booking stand out immediately for Borralho, who admitted his first thought was, “This doesn’t make much sense.”
Even so, he made it clear he was not going to back away from the fight. Borralho said he sent Pereira a message as soon as the matchup was finalized, then explained that he told him, “I’m a fan of yours, you know that. We’re friends.” He added that Pereira had invited him to train together, but that would have to wait because they will be in opposite corners on Saturday in New York at Madison Square Garden.
A fight that connects Borralho to Pereira's circle
Borralho said the message was handled in a respectful way, with both sides understanding the situation. He told Pereira, “After the fight, everything goes back to normal,” and noted that Pereira knows the level of athlete Belgaroui is going to face because they have trained together in striking, MMA sparring and grappling. Borralho also said Belgaroui is experienced enough not to let the outside storyline affect him.
The booking comes at an important point in Borralho's rise. He won his most recent UFC fight against Reinier de Ridder and said he is approaching a title shot. Still, he framed the new assignment as part of the job, saying that after he thought about it and calmed down, “it’s just another fight.”
What Belgaroui has done in the UFC
Belgaroui earned his place on the UFC roster through Dana White's Contender Series in September of 2024. Since joining the UFC, he has gone 3-0 and finished Azamat Bekoev, Mansur Abdul-Malik and Djorden Santos, giving him three knockouts in his first three UFC wins.
That run explains why Borralho is taking the matchup seriously, even if his first reaction was skepticism. He said, “It never crossed my mind to turn down the fight,” and summed up his approach simply: “If this is the fight you guys want, let’s do it.”
For Borralho, the opponent is more than just another name on the schedule. It is a fight tied to Pereira's orbit, a chance to keep moving toward a title shot and another opportunity to show that his game is broader than one label. “Maybe people need to watch those fights more to understand that I’m not just a grappler,” he said.
