Caio Borralho Reveals Alex Pereira Message Before UFC 334 Fight With Yousri Belgaroui

Alex Pereira gives special message to Caio Borralho before UFC 334 fight© NDTV Library

Caio Borralho is set to face rising middleweight contender Yousri Belgaroui at UFC 334 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The matchup has an interesting twist, as Borralho's friend Alex Pereira will be supporting Belgaroui from the opposite corner. Both fighters have trained with Pereira in the past, creating an unusual situation ahead of their meeting. Borralho has now revealed that he contacted the former UFC champion after the fight was announced and he also revealed why he respects the challenge and believes his striking can trouble Belgaroui.

Caio Borralho Reveals His Conversation With Alex Pereira Ahead Of His UFC 334 Bout

Caio Borralho has trained alongside Alex Pereira several times, both in the United States and at The Fighting Nerds gym in Sao Paulo, Brazil but Belgaroui has also developed a strong connection with the Brazilian star after joining Glover Teixeira's team in Danbury.

With Pereira now backing his opponent, Borralho wanted to make sure their friendship remained unaffected. The Brazilian middleweight revealed that he immediately messaged Pereira after learning about the matchup.

“It was very smooth,” Borralho told MMA Fighting, “I actually sent ‘Poatan' a message as soon as we booked the fight. 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.'”

Borralho also believes Pereira's previous training sessions with him will not give Belgaroui a major advantage.

“Yousri is experienced enough not to let things influence him that way,” Borralho said. “Poatan and I have trained striking together, done MMA sparring together, and trained on the ground together, so Poatan knows the level of athlete Yousri is going to face. I'm sure that's taken into account, but I don't think it really influences Yousri in any way. They know he can't go to the ground with me. They definitely know that.”

Borralho Explains Why He Accepted Yousri Belgaroui Fight

Borralho enters UFC 334 after defeating Reinier de Ridder, improving his UFC record to 8-1. Belgaroui, meanwhile, has made an impressive start to his promotional career, winning all three of his UFC fights by knockout.

The former GLORY kickboxer earned his UFC contract through Dana White's Contender Series in September 2024.

Despite Belgaroui's impressive performances, Borralho initially questioned the matchup because he wanted a higher-ranked opponent.

Borralho rejected the idea that he should immediately rely on wrestling against the dangerous knockout artist. He pointed to previous performances against Michal Oleksiejczuk, Jared Cannonier and Nassourdine Imavov to highlight his striking ability.

He believes his ability to switch between striking and grappling will make things difficult for Belgaroui. The Brazilian also expects the threat of takedowns to create openings on the feet.