# Caio Borralho

Caio Vinícius Silva Borralho (born January 16, 1993) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 28, 2024, he is #6 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

## Background

Caio Borralho was born January 16, 1993 in São Luís, Maranhão. His grandfather was a math teacher and, inspired by him, Borralho started tutoring at 15 years old in math and chemistry.
After graduation, Borralho went to the Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA) to study industrial chemistry. During his university years, he was offered an internship opportunity at Brazilian brewery giant Ambev; he would reject this offer, and would ultimately drop out from university as he became passionate about pursuing a career in MMA sometime in 2014.
Borralho first started training mixed martial arts around the age of eighteen years old, but his very first MMA fight occurred in 2014, when he was around twenty-one years old as an amateur, at Dojô James Adler, located in the metropolitan city of São Luís, Maranhão.
Before MMA, Borralho dabbled in other types of martial arts. His very first journey into the world of martial arts came when he was six years old with grappling arts like judo, with Sensei Emílio Moreira serving as his very first mentor. In judo he has won multiple championships at state (Maranhão) and national levels.
After losing to an opponent in a Judo tournament via armlock, Borralho's Sensei Emílio Moreira directed him to train in jiu-jitsu in order to enrich his judo skills. Not long after Borralho also began training in Muay Thai, but he opted out of these martial arts (judo and Muay Thai) in 2014 to pursue a pro career in MMA, as he moved out from his native town of São Luís to the city of São Paulo. Eventually, he started his own MMA team Fighting Nerds with his coach Pablo Sucupira.

## Mixed martial arts career

Borralho had an amateur win in 2014 before turning professional later that year. After compiling a record of 8–1–1, he was invited to competed on Dana White's Contender Series.

### Dana White’s Contender Series

Borralho made his Contender Series debut against Aaron Jeffery on September 28, 2021. He won via unanimous decision, but didn't get a contract with the UFC
He returned a month later, a significant favorite against 8–3 Jesse Murray. The fight was at Light Heavyweight, and Borralho won via first-round TKO, earning a contract with the UFC.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

Borralho was signed by the UFC and made his promotional debut against Gadzhi Omargadzhiev at UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2. Borralho won by technical decision after an accidental foul on his opponent.
Borralho next faced prospect Armen Petrosyan at UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev, winning via unanimous decision.
He next faced Makhmud Muradov at UFC 280, whom he defeated via unanimous decision.
Borralho faced Michał Oleksiejczuk at UFC on ESPN: Song vs. Simón, winning via rear-naked choke in the second round.
Borralho was scheduled to face Nursulton Ruziboev on November 4, 2023, at UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis. However, Ruziboev withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by Abusupiyan Magomedov. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Borralho faced Paul Craig on May 4, 2024, at UFC 301. He won the fight by knockout in the second round. This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.
Borralho faced former UFC Middleweight Championship challenger Jared Cannonier in the main event on August 24, 2024 at UFC on ESPN 62. He won the fight by unanimous decision. This fight earned him a Fight of the Night award.

## Grappling career

Borralho faced Brendan Allen on February 28, 2025 in a submission match at Karate Combat 53. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

## Championships and accomplishments
### Mixed martial arts

* Ultimate Fighting Championship
** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Jared Cannonier
** Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk and Paul Craig
** Tied (Anthony Hernandez) for seventh longest win streak in UFC Middleweight division history (7)
* Future Fighting Championships
** Middleweight Champion (One time)

## Personal life

Caio Borralho is married and has one son. He has been wearing eyeglasses since age of three, as he has been suffering from both myopia and astigmatism. Borralho initial interest in MMA originated from the martial arts flicks of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
He currently resides in São Paulo, and completed his physical education degree at a university. Borralho also teaches martial arts classes at various gyms in the city of São Paulo.
He is a fan of superhero films, video games and anime; he also plays chess, which is why Borralho got the nickname "Rei dos Nerds" (King of Nerds).

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 19 matches | 17 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 5 | 0 |
| By submission | 4 | 0 |
| By decision | 8 | 1 |
| No contests | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 17–1 (1) | Jared Cannonier | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Borralho | August 24, 2024 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 16–1 (1) | Paul Craig | KO (punches) | UFC 301 | May 4, 2024 | 2 | 2:10 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 15–1 (1) | Abusupiyan Magomedov | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis | November 4, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | São Paulo, Brazil | |
| Win | 14–1 (1) | Michał Oleksiejczuk | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC on ESPN: Song vs. Simón | April 29, 2023 | 2 | 2:49 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 13–1 (1) | Makhmud Muradov | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 280 | October 22, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Win | 12–1 (1) | Armen Petrosyan | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev | July 9, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 11–1 (1) | Gadzhi Omargadzhiev | Technical Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2 | April 16, 2022 | 3 | 3:56 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Return to Middleweight. Borralho was deducted one point in round 3 due to an accidental illegal knee which rendered Omargadzhiev unable to continue. |
| Win | 10–1 (1) | Jesse Murray | TKO (punches) | Dana White's Contender Series 44 | October 19, 2021 | 1 | 1:41 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Light Heavyweight debut. |
| Win | 9–1 (1) | Aaron Jeffery | Decision (unanimous) | Dana White's Contender Series 41 | September 28, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 8–1 (1) | Wildemar Santos | Decision (unanimous) | Future FC 12 | October 16, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | São Paulo, Brazil | Won the vacant FFC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–1 (1) | Ykaro Queiroz | Decision (unanimous) | Future FC 10 | December 6, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | São Paulo, Brazil | |
| Win | 6–1 (1) | Otávio Sagás | Submission (guillotine choke) | Future FC 8 | August 23, 2019 | 1 | 3:44 | São Paulo, Brazil | |
| Win | 5–1 (1) | Luiz Carlos Alves | Submission (anaconda choke) | Mega Fight Championship 2 | June 22, 2019 | 1 | 2:03 | Osasco, Brazil | |
| Win | 4–1 (1) | Douglas Nascimento | TKO (punches) | Batalha MMA 14 | September 8, 2018 | 1 | 1:13 | São Paulo, Brazil | Middleweight debut. |
| NC | 3–1 (1) | Raylander Marques | No Contest | Vikings Fight Club 2 | June 16, 2018 | 1 | 5:00 | Campinas, Brazil | |
| Win | 3–1 | Luiz Carlos Alves | TKO (punches) | Arena Combat: Fight Night 2 | September 16, 2017 | 1 | 0:20 | São Sebastião, Brazil | |
| Win | 2–1 | Edson Junior | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Thunder Fight 9 | September 30, 2016 | 3 | 3:05 | São Paulo, Brazil | |
| Loss | 1–1 | João Carvalho | Decision (unanimous) | Bradar Fight 3 | July 18, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | São Luís, Brazil | |
| Win | 1–0 | Cleiton Rafael | KO (punch) | Evocke Fight: Gods of War | December 13, 2014 | 1 | 1:48 | São Paulo, Brazil | Welterweight debut. |