Caio Borralho targets a top-10 opponent and says he’s “one or two” wins from a middleweight title shot

Caio Borralho is pressing to be matched with a top-10 opponent as he looks toward the middleweight title picture, and he believes it could take only one or two more wins to get there. The UFC contender told Yahoo Sports that he intends to return in time for UFC 334 in New York on Nov. 14, after medical clearance allowed him to resume training following a rib injury.

The injury created a direct ripple effect in his schedule. Borralho was set to fight Joe Pyfer at UFC 330, but the rib problem forced him to pull out and undergo surgery, according to Yahoo Sports. With that now behind him, he said he is back in the training process and focused on finding a fight that would quickly raise his profile among the division’s higher-ranked names.

Borralho’s motivation is tied to where he believes he sits in the middleweight race after his most recent UFC outing. Yahoo Sports reports that his last fight was a victory over Reinier de Ridder, a result that matters because de Ridder is widely viewed as a high-level opponent and the type of name that strengthens a contender’s case for elite matchmaking.

Even with momentum, the middleweight division typically rewards fighters who can demonstrate they can beat increasingly dangerous opponents in sequence. Borralho’s call for a top-10 opponent indicates that he is not seeking to pick around the edges of the rankings, but instead wants a matchup that carries immediate title-implication stakes, where a win would be difficult to ignore in UFC matchmaking conversations.

His comments also frame the timing of his return. If Borralho is cleared and booked for UFC 334, it would give him a straightforward path to re-establish his trajectory in front of a large UFC audience during a major fall event window. For fans, it also sets up an easy storyline to follow: can he translate post-surgery recovery and his recent win momentum into another performance strong enough to move him closer to the top of the division?

UFC title shots are generally earned through a combination of performance, opponent quality, and how the champion’s next steps shape the ladder of contenders. Borralho’s “one or two” wins comment should be treated as his own projection and preference for the matchup path, not a guarantee that the UFC will structure the division that way. Still, by targeting a top-10 opponent and an event-date return, he is making it clear what kind of fight would most accelerate his case.

If he lands on UFC 334, the main question becomes who the UFC puts in front of him. A top-10 opponent would be the most direct test of where he stands against the division’s upper echelon, and a win could tighten the middleweight title conversation. Conversely, if the UFC chooses a different rung on the ladder for logistical reasons, Borralho’s stated goal would show how much his next booking depends on matchmaking choices as much as training results.