Caio Borralho Aims for UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden

Caio Borralho has circled a date and a building, and he’s not shy about it: he wants Madison Square Garden, November 14, UFC 334.

The No. 6-ranked middleweight in the Meta UFC Rankings has been stuck on the sidelines after pulling out of a key clash with Joe Pyfer at UFC 330 due to injury. Now, the Brazilian says the rehab is done, the rust is coming off, and the clock is ticking toward a full camp.

“I think I’m around 90 to 95 percent, but I’m full training right now,” Borralho told MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz. “I’m doing everything, doing grappling, wrestling, striking and everything. I think a day for me to start a camp will be like in three, four weeks, and I want to fight in MSG, so this is the perfect date for me.”

For a fighter who has built his UFC run on momentum, that Pyfer withdrawal still stings. The matchup was viewed as a genuine litmus test in a crowded middleweight field, a chance for Borralho to push closer to the title picture against a dangerous, surging name.

He hasn’t let go of it.

“I think it was a great match-up against Joe Pyfer, he was one of the top guys in the world. I think it will be a great fight with him,” Borralho said. “I think we’re going to do this fight sooner or later, but I needed to pull out and do surgery and all this stuff. But I feel ready already. I feel that I’m getting the best shape of my life right now.”

That’s not idle talk. Since arriving in the UFC in 2022, Borralho has quietly stacked an 8-1 record inside the promotion, a run that includes notable wins over Jared Cannonier, Reinier de Ridder, and Abus Magomedov. The lone blemish came against top contender Nassourdine Imavov, a man many see as next in line for a crack at current champion Sean Strickland.

The trajectory is obvious, and Borralho knows it. He believes the belt isn’t some distant dream; it’s a couple of contracts away.

“I’m just waiting for the UFC to give him a name and then we’re going to accept right away, doesn’t matter who,” he said. “I just need to make sense for me, for the company, and for the division. I had like seven straight wins and then I lost. Now I have a good win against de Ridder, that did very good last weekend (against Roman Dolidze). I think one or two more on the way to the belt. I’m just waiting for the name.”

The options in front of him are clear on paper. According to the current rankings, Pyfer and Brendan Allen sit directly above Borralho, both offering exactly the kind of fight that could shove him into undeniable title contention. Stylistically, both matchups promise chaos; strategically, they’re the sort of high-risk, high-reward nights that define careers.

Borralho isn’t fussed about which name lands on the bout agreement. He just wants the stage, the stakes, and the chance to prove that his rise didn’t stall with that injury.

He’s asking for the Garden. Now it’s on the UFC matchmakers to decide whether one of the division’s most quietly dangerous climbers gets his wish under the bright lights of New York City.