Borralho texts Pereira to clear the air before UFC 334 clash with his teammate Belgaroui

Caio Borralho sent Alex Pereira a personal text message the moment the UFC confirmed his middleweight matchup against Pereira’s teammate Yousri Belgaroui at UFC 334 in New York. The two friends, who have trained together on multiple occasions both in the United States and at The Fighting Nerds gym in São Paulo, will find themselves in opposing corners at Madison Square Garden.

“I got to Brazil and told him, ‘I’m a fan of yours, you know that. We’re friends,’” Borralho said. “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.’”

Belgaroui, a former GLORY kickboxer, joined Pereira and Glover Teixeira’s team in Danbury, Connecticut, and has made an immediate impression in the UFC. Since arriving via Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2024, he has gone 3-0 with three knockouts, finishing Azamat Bekoev, Mansur Abdul-Malik, and Djorden Santos in succession.

Borralho acknowledged that Pereira’s familiarity with him from their shared training sessions could theoretically inform Belgaroui’s game plan, but he dismissed it as a meaningful factor. “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,” he said. “They know he can’t go to the ground with me. They definitely know that.”

The Brazilian middleweight, who improved to 8-1 in the UFC with a win over Reinier de Ridder in his last outing, admitted his initial reaction to the booking was lukewarm. “My first reaction was, ‘This doesn’t make much sense,’” he said. “I’m on my way to a title shot.” After reflection, however, he accepted the challenge without hesitation. “I asked if there was anyone else available because I would have preferred someone ranked higher. They said no, and right then I said it’s settled.”

Borralho ultimately framed the fight as an opportunity rather than a detour, pointing to Belgaroui’s unbeaten UFC record and finishing ability as credentials that make the bout worthwhile. “He’s coming off some good wins and good performances, so I thought it was a cool challenge,” he said, adding that turning the fight down never entered his thinking.