Caio
Borralho says he fought Reinier
de Ridder with a broken rib and did not tell the
Ultimate Fighting Championship how serious the injury was
before their March bout.
The Brazilian middleweight, a Stake ambassador, told the
company he fractured the rib two weeks before
UFC 326. He went ahead with the fight and earned a unanimous
decision victory.
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Caio Borralho describes fighting Reinier de Ridder with a
fractured rib, undergoing surgery and preparing for UFC 334
“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 told Stake. “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 said he continued to experience pain after waiting 10
weeks for the rib to heal. An MRI showed that the separation had
worsened, he said, prompting emergency surgery the next day.
Asked whether the UFC knew the severity of the injury before the
fight, Borralho said it did not. His wife, coaches and team knew,
but he had not told his parents.
“No! Even my family didn’t know,” Borralho said. “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 surgery and recovery delayed Borralho’s return. He had hoped to
compete in August but is now scheduled to face Yousri
Belgaroui at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.