Caio Borralho used his grappling to control Yousri Belgaroui and win a unanimous decision at UFC 334, with all three judges scoring the middleweight bout 30-27. The fight took place at Madison Square Garden in New York on the main card. Borralho (19-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) stifled the striking-heavy game plan of former Glory Kickboxing star Yousri Belgaroui (11-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) through repeated takedowns, clinch work and ground control.

The bout was not always pretty. Borralho opened with a good left hand and Belgaroui answered with an effective body kick, but Borralho kept pressing for takedowns until he took the fight to the ground and jumped on the back. Belgaroui defended well in the first round, fighting out of a rear-naked choke position, but he could not turn that defense into significant offense. In the second round Belgaroui threw his kicks more comfortably and landed a knee to the body, but Borralho found an opening to put him on the mat and move into side control. Borralho landed another takedown in the final round to maintain control.S1S2

Belgaroui, 34, lost for the first time in the UFC and saw a six-fight winning streak snapped. He had defeated Azamat Bekoev, Mansur Abdul-Malik and Djorden Santos on the way to the Borralho matchup. Still relatively new to mixing martial arts, he was tested on the ground in a way his striking background had not fully prepared him for.S1

After the win, Borralho said he came to show that there are levels to the game, citing his experience in what was his 10th UFC fight, and that he was not chasing a finish. He said he was tired of calling out former champion Dricus Du Plessis and instead asked for a rematch with Nassourdine Imavov, who beat him by unanimous decision in September 2025. With this victory Borralho has now won back-to-back fights, and he said he was ready for the rematch, though he would also accept Brandon Allen.S1S2