Khamzat Chimaev didn’t take long to respond to Caio Borralho’s recent callout.
UFC middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev‘s likely title shot hit a big delay recently after Dricus du Plessis‘s reported injury issues. While it’s uncertain when du Plessis will return to the Octagon, Chimaev is the presumed No. 1 contender after a dominant win over Robert Whittaker in his last fight.
As of this writing, it’s uncertain if the UFC will opt for an interim middleweight title fight amidst du Plessis’s recovery from injury. If that’s the case, Chimaev will likely be one of the parties involved, and he has a potential match for an opponent after a recent social media back-and-forth.
Caio Borralho, who has repeatedly called for a showdown with Nassourdine Imavov in recent weeks, is eager to get his shot at a top contender.
Khamzat Chimaev sends Caio Borralho a chilling response to fight callout
Borralho and Chimaev trained together earlier in their careers, and both sides have told similar stories about how things transpired. Amidst du Plessis’s injury issues, a clash between the former training partners could come to fruition after Borralho’s callout.
In two posts on X, Borralho offered to fight Chimaev in a potential interim title fight.
“I know a guy,” Borralho posted Sunday. “[UFC] you know who to call.
“Interim?”
It didn’t take long for Chimaev to notice Borralho’s tweets, as he coldly reminded the talented middleweight about their past sparring sessions.
✈️🤫 pic.twitter.com/m5kVJH1pRz
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) April 20, 2025
In a 2023 interview with MMA content creator James Lynch, Borralho gave an honest assessment of how things went with Chimaev in the gym.
“It was very hard, good training, and I evolved a lot,” Borralho said of Chimaev. “I think he can be successful in any way he wants…he can make some noise in both [welterweight and middleweight] divisions.”
Chimaev went on to make the full-time transition to middleweight and is 4-0 at 185 lbs in the UFC Octagon. In addition to his win over Whittaker, Chimaev outpointed former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 294.
Khamzat Chimaev had a crude reaction to Dricus du Plessis’s injury rumors
After news of du Plessis’ reported injury issues made the rounds on social media, Chimaev issued a crude response to the middleweight champion. Chimaev wrote ‘this guy biggest bull—-‘ in his first comments after the du Plessis rumors surfaced.
As of this writing, du Plessis hasn’t spoken out and provided clarification on his health status and timeframe for a return to the Octagon. Du Plessis most recently defended his belt against Sean Strickland in their UFC 312 rematch.
The du Plessis injury rumors are an unfortunate development after Chimaev’s teammate Darren Till teased a title fight for the star’s next fight. Now, the UFC hit an unfortunate snag as they continue to work on solidifying the promotion’s International Fight Week pay-per-view card in June.
Meanwhile, Borralho hasn’t fought since defeating Jared Cannonier last August by unanimous decision. He remains unbeaten in his UFC tenure with recent wins over Abus Magomedov and Paul Craig.
