Borralho reveals he hid broken rib from UFC and beat De Ridder through the pain

Caio Borralho fought Reinier de Ridder at UFC 326 with a broken rib he had deliberately kept from the promotion, the Brazilian middleweight has revealed. Borralho earned a unanimous decision victory despite fracturing the rib just two weeks before the bout, and only disclosed the full extent of the injury after the fact.

“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 said. “It was down to myself whether I would make the fight, and thank God I managed to get past these two weeks and fight.”

Borralho confirmed that the UFC was not informed of the severity of the injury before the fight. His wife, coaches and wider team were aware, but he kept it from his parents as well as the promotion. “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 decision to compete came at a cost. After waiting ten weeks for the rib to heal post-fight, Borralho continued to experience pain. An MRI revealed the separation had worsened, and he underwent emergency surgery the following day.

The recovery has disrupted his 2025 schedule. Borralho had targeted a return in August, but the surgery pushed that timeline back. He is now set to face Yousri Belgaroui at UFC 334 on 14 November at Madison Square Garden in New York.