Top-tier Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middle contender Caio Borralho has revealed that he stepped into the Octagon against Reinier de Ridder earlier this year carrying a severe, undisclosed injury. According to the Brazilian standout and Stake ambassador, he fought with a completely broken rib that he suffered just two weeks prior to the bout, choosing to keep the true extent of the damage hidden from UFC officials.
Despite competing under immense physical duress, Borralho managed to push through the pain, executing a disciplined game plan that ultimately earned him a hard-fought unanimous decision victory. However, the hidden toll of the March matchup at UFC 326—which was headlined by Holloway vs. Oliveira 2—extended far beyond the final bell, eventually forcing the rising contender into an emergency surgical procedure and a temporary hiatus from active competition.
Caio Borralho describes fighting Reinier de Ridder with a fractured rib, undergoing surgery and preparing for UFC 334
Reflecting on the harrowing buildup to the fight in an interview with Stake, Borralho opened up about the psychological and physical hurdles he had to overcome in the fortnight leading up to the event.
“I broke my rib two weeks before my fight with De Ridder. I fought with a totally broken rib. It was the craziest two weeks of my life — it was a mental war,” Borralho told Stake. “It was down to myself whether I would make the fight, and thank God I managed to get past these two weeks and fight.”
The decision to proceed with the matchup required an extraordinary level of mental fortitude. While professional mixed martial artists routinely step into the cage nursing minor bumps, bruises, and training camp niggles, competing at the elite level of the UFC with a completely fractured rib is an entirely different magnitude of risk. A compromised midsection leaves a fighter exceptionally vulnerable to body shots, grappling pressure, and rotational torque, any of which could have catastrophically worsened the injury mid-fight.
Yet, driven by the high stakes of his career trajectory in the talent-rich middleweight division, Borralho opted to silence his physical pain and press forward. When the cage door closed, his tactical acumen and toughness prevailed, securing the judges’ nod and preserving his momentum in the organization.
The victory, however, came with a heavy delayed cost. Borralho explained that even after waiting ten weeks following the bout—expecting the bone to heal naturally through rest and reduced physical activity—he continued to experience lingering, acute pain in his torso. Concerned by the lack of progress, medical professionals ordered a follow-up Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan to assess the structural integrity of the bone.
The results of the scan revealed that the situation had significantly deteriorated. Rather than healing, the rib separation had worsened over the ten-week period, leaving the bone unstable and posing a long-term threat to his health and athletic career. Faced with these alarming findings, medical staff advised immediate intervention, prompting emergency surgery to repair the damage the very next day.
When asked whether the Ultimate Fighting Championship management or medical staff had any inkling regarding the severity of the injury prior to the March clash, Borralho confirmed that the promotion was kept completely in the dark. In fact, the inner circle privy to the high-risk gamble was kept remarkably small. Alongside his wife, only his four primary coaches and his immediate wider training team were entrusted with the secret.
Notably, Borralho chose to shield his own parents from the terrifying reality of his condition, opting to spare them the psychological burden of watching their son compete with a severe structural fracture.
“No! Even my family didn’t know,” Borralho said. “My four coaches and my wider team knew, and my wife. But I didn’t tell my mother or father. Fighting is already a lot of worry for them, so I didn’t want them to worry more than needed, and I fought, and won!”
The subsequent emergency surgery and the mandatory rehabilitation period that followed inevitably disrupted Borralho’s active fighting schedule. Initially, the Brazilian middleweight had targeted a return to the Octagon during the late summer, hoping for a high-profile booking in August to capitalize on his momentum. However, the rigorous demands of post-surgical recovery and the necessary healing timeline pushed those ambitious plans back.
With his body now fully on the mend and the setback firmly behind him, Borralho is officially set to make his highly anticipated return to the cage. He is currently scheduled to face formidable opponent Yousri Belgaroui at UFC 334, which is slated to take place on November 14 at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City, a venue synonymous with some of the biggest and most memorable events in mixed martial arts history.
