Don’t just be a fighter. … Be one of the fighting nerds.
Founded in 2014 by Caio Borralho and his coach, Pablo Sucupira, The Fighting Nerds have emerged as one of the premier mixed martial arts gyms with a slew of emerging stars, including Carlos Prates, Mauricio Ruffy, UFC 314’s Jean Silva, and Borralho himself.
Even if you’re a casual fan that doesn’t necessarily follow which gym a specific fighter represents, The Fighting Nerds are easily identifiable by their signature glasses, which are typically taped together in the center.
Speaking with John Gooden via the UFC Fight Pass YouTube channel, Sucupira shared the philosophy behind the rising team of top prospects.
“Almost all fighters want to be a little bit smarter, and a lot of nerds want to be a little bit braver,” Sucupira said. “The concept is about being smart and being brave—if you are both, you are a Fighting Nerd.”
The Fighting Nerds take over the octagon in April
Two of the Fighting Nerds’ biggest names will be in action this month. First, Jean Silva steps back inside the Octagon less than two months removed from his fourth-straight knockout inside the Octagon. ‘Lord’ scored a first-round knockout against Melsik Baghdasaryan. Following the victory, he called out controversial featherweight standout Bryce Mitchell.
Days later, Dana White confirmed that Mitchell called him asking for the fight against Silva at UFC 314 in Miami. Silva happily accepted.
Two weeks later, Carlos Prates will step into the main event spotlight for a clash with Ian Machado Garry at UFC Kansas City on April 26.
Originally, Prates was scheduled to face Geoff Neal at UFC 314, but ‘Handz of Steel’ was forced to bow out of the bout last minute. Instead of hunting down a late-notice replacement, the promotion opted to push back Prates’ return to the Octagon a couple of weeks to secure him a much more intriguing opponent, with all due respect to Neal.
As it stands, Prates is the No. 13-ranked contender in the welterweight division. With a win over ‘The Future’ in Missouri, he’ll skyrocket himself into the top 10, putting him potentially one big win away from a shot at the 170-pound crown.
