Why did Caio Borralho Message Alex Pereira After Booking Yousri Belgaroui Bout?

When Caio Borralho signed on to fight Yousri Belgaroui at UFC 334, the middleweight contender immediately noticed a familiar wrinkle in the matchup. Former two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira, a friend and past training partner of Borralho, happens to be one of Belgaroui’s primary teammates and will be working the opposite corner at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

Rather than let things get awkward, Borralho went straight to the source. Speaking to MMA Fighting ahead of the New York pay-per-view, the 33-year-old Brazilian explained that he reached out to Pereira the moment the contract was signed to keep their relationship intact.

“I actually sent ‘Poatan’ a message as soon as we booked the fight,” Borralho said. “I got to Brazil and told him, ‘I’m a fan of yours, you know that. We’re friends.’ He had even invited me to train together, and I said, ‘That’ll have to wait a little now that we’re going to be on opposite corners, but I have the utmost respect for you, Glover, and your team. After the fight, everything goes back to normal.’”

Anyone who follows MMA knows that Brazilian fighters rarely trade trash talk with one another. There is an unwritten code of mutual respect among them, especially when dealing with national icons like Pereira, Charles Oliveira and Glover Teixeira. For Borralho, sending that text wasn't about gamesmanship; it was simply a mark of respect for a legend.

Confidence on the Ground

Borralho (18-2, 1 NC) has logged plenty of rounds alongside Pereira both in the United States and at The Fighting Nerds gym in Sao Paulo. Even so, he isn't losing sleep  over Pereira sharing scouting reports with Belgaroui (11-3), who trains under Teixeira and Pereira in Danbury, Connecticut.

“Poatan knows the level of athlete Yousri is going to face,” Borralho said. “They know he can’t go to the ground with me. They definitely know that.”

The Dutch striker has torn through his UFC run with three straight knockouts, leaning on a 63% striking accuracy rate and a 79-inch reach. Still, Borralho, who holds an 8-1 promotional record and is coming off a decision win over Reinier de Ridder, believes his grappling separates them.