The UFC has booked Caio Borralho against Reinier de Ridder for UFC 326 on March 7, 2026 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The middleweight fight will take place on the same card as Max Holloway’s title defense against Charles Oliveira. The news was first reported by Leo Walker Guimaraes.
Caio Borralho takes on Reinier De Ridder in UFC 326 middleweight bout
Borralho, the Fighting Nerds’ Brazilian striker-grappler, lost a competitive unanimous decision to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Paris in September 2025. De Ridder, the Dutch submission specialist and former two-division ONE Championship champion, suffered his first UFC defeat when Brendan Allen forced him to retire on the stool between rounds four and five at UFC Vancouver in October. Both are struggling with top-ranked losses.
Borralho enters the fight ranked eighth in the middleweight division with a UFC record of no losses until the Imavov fight. The 32-year-old Brazilian had reeled off seven straight victories before facing Imavov, including a five-round decision over former title challenger Jared Cannonier in August 2024. His well-rounded approach, which blends grappling, grappling and striking, has made him a consistent threat at middleweight. Prior to Imavov’s loss, Borralho had played a role as a backup fighter for the UFC 319 title fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus du Plessis.
De Ridder arrives at the matchup ranked ninth, with a professional record of 21-3 and a 4-1 UFC mark. The 34-year-old’s only UFC loss came to Allen after he showed impressive form in the promotion, including a win over Robert Whittaker in July. The Knights wrestling skill and submission threats had positioned him as a dark horse competitor, although the loss of Allen exposed his vulnerability to sustained ground-and-pound and cardio management for longer rounds.
Both fighters are in the position of needing a statement victory to regain momentum in a stacked middleweight division led by undefeated champion Chimaev. The combination makes competitive sense and offers each fighter a chance to climb back into the title picture, while creating a potentially high-level technical match between two wrestlers with different styles.
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