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Fans of the sport, of UFC, have seen he advent of a rag-tag group find their footing and breakthrough like none other. The Fighting Nerds, as they call themselves, AKA Combat Club São Paulo before that (officially), was founded by Caio Borralho and his coach Pablo Sucupira way back in 2014. Their other members now include Carlos Prates, Jean Silva, Maurício Ruffy, Thiago Moisés, and Michał Oleksiejczuk as an honorary add-on (UFC 314).
Fighting Nerds’ fighters and cornermen are known for their signature taped-together glasses. They are typically taped in the middle in white, Nerd-style.
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Origin of The Fighting Nerds gym and story
Caio Borralho, a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, initially specialized in grappling and met with Sucupira to hone his proficiency in striking. Sucupira said that Borralho, like him, liked to use facts and facets, and information to make informed decisions about fighting. Hence, a gym environment would suit them the best, and they built it from the ground-up, including decor, equipment, ring, and so on.
The fledgling training facility at São Paulo, Brazil, then included Demian Maia’s grappling coach, Wagner Mota, and Flavio Alvaro. Sucupira bases his training on developing tact and solving each opponent like a deep analytical problem, rather than having cage rage.
In an age where MMA has developed into such a large organism, the gym helps get back to thoughtful, technical fighting rather than having signature moves. BJJ, as a niche sport, is now considered more nerdy and not mainstream martial arts for the American crowds. They are here to prove otherwise.
This photo of The Fighting Nerds ❤️🤓 #UFC313
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 9, 2025
📸: Ian Maule/Getty Images pic.twitter.com/p1GpdZAze1
In March of 2025, Ruffy divulged that Fighting Nerds Team was poised for an expansion into the United States, with the establishment of a new branch in New Hampshire. Jean Silva and others have also talked on it.
Nerd World Order: Why go with ‘Nerds’?
It is the age of the nerds. Nerdology is an acquired taste. Modern times have seen how much of a nerd Elon Musk is, but that didn’t hinder his rise to fame. Speaking of which, the GOP Business head/Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) head is a fan of this team. The techie even went viral wearing and posing with The Fighting Nerds’ signature lens-less plastic glasses.
The team didn’t want to farm pseudo street cred around their training facilities, as it was up and coming. Rather, they enjoyed the mundane trivialities: Borralho loved tutoring while Sucupira worked as a desk copywriter. So, the team name choice stuck, and they chose the path to prove themselves through fighting.
The gym and training facility adore the ‘nerd’ factor and support doing whatever path one likes. Their mission is to motivate “nerdy” kids and adults to pursue whatever passions and to empower them to take charge. However, they also help them stand up and safeguard against bullies. The social media/IG taglines have a “It’s bullying payback time” sporting the sentiment. New World Order? No, they bill it as nerd world order and nerd empowerment.
In an age where UFC Execs and media crew have also had strict pauses on props, the ‘Nerd’ look and lens-less glasses are a practically perfect branding. The team and cornermen often bring dozens of glasses to hand out to fans and even commentators during the fight.
Some Breakout stars
In 2021, Caio Borralho received an offer to compete for a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS), marking a breakthrough for Fighting Nerds. Borralho won it after two fights. After that, ‘The Natural’ is a ranked middleweight and finds himself 7-0 on straight wins. He has defeated standouts like Armen Petrosyan, Michal Oleksiejczuk, and Paul Craig and found his headlining spot vs. Jared Cannonier (UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Borralho).
Ruffy is 3-0 after DWCS and is a prolific striker. His footwork, upright stance and checking space, and shock KOs often find comparisons with a prime Conor McGregor. He last fought and defeated King Green via first-round knockout (spinning wheel kick) – at about the 2:07 mark at UFC 313.
Jean Silva was a proper 2024 breakout star and is currently on a 13-fight long streak. After DWCS, he is 5-0 in the Octagon and last faced Bryce Mitchell in a grudge match setting at UFC 314 PPV card. While 80% of his finishes come in the way of KO/TKO, he met Mitchell’s grappling challenges and instead thwarted him via round 2 submission (ninja choke) – at about the 3:52 mark.
