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 May 7, 2024, he is #12 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Background
Caio Borralho was born January 16th in São Luís, Maranhão. His grandfather was a math teacher, and inspired by him, Borralho started tutoring at 15 years old in maths and chemistry.

After graduation, Borralho went to Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA) to study Industrial Chemistry. During his university years, he was offered internship opportunity at Brazilian brewery giant Ambev, he would reject this offer, and would ultimately drop out from his university as he became passionate about pursuing career in MMA some time in 2014.

Borralho first started doing 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 with grappling arts by the name of Judo, with Sensei Emílio Moreira serving as his very first mentor. In judo he has won multiple championship at state (Maranhão) and national levels.

After losing to an opponent in a Judo tournament via armlock, Borralho's Sensei Emílio Moreira, coerced 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 a 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 Abus 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.

Mixed martial arts

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk and Paul Craig
 * Tied (Francis Carmont, Sean Strickland & Brendan Allen) for the seventh longest win streak in UFC Middleweight division history (6)
 * 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 & astigmatism. Borralho initial appeal with MMA originated from the martial arts flicks of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan & Bruce Lee.

He currently resides in São Paulo, and has completed his Physical Education degree from 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 & anime; he also plays chess, which is why Borralho got the nickname "Rei dos Nerds" (King of Nerds).