Fight Coverage
Fighting Nerds Spotlight
Brazil’s Fighting Nerds Have Continued Their Momentum From Their Breakout 2024 Into 2025 With Even Higher-Profile Matchups And Performances So Far This Year
It’s no secret that The Fighting Nerds are on fire.
Whether you want to start from Caio Borralho’s entrance into the promotion in 2022 or their collective breakout in 2024 behind Borralho, Jean Silva, Carlos Prates and Mauricio Ruffy, what’s certain is they are resonating with the mixed martial arts fanbase.
The momentum has continued into 2025, thanks to Ruffy and Silva.
RELATED: Mauricio Ruffy Knocks Out King Green
Silva, who racked up three knockout wins in 2024, picked up another show-stopping finish to keep the Nerds’ party rolling when he steamrolled Melsik Baghdasaryan in the first round of their bout in Seattle. Ruffy followed that effort, securing his third UFC win in spectacular fashionwhen he knocked out King Green via wheel kick in the first round at UFC 313 in Las Vegas. It was exactly the kind of highlight-reel moment you’d want from a surging contender, as well as one a rising lightweight contender needs to distinguish himself in what is arguably UFC’s most competitive and highest-profile division.
Before Ruffy tallied his finish, however, his teammate Jean Silva arguably stole the show during fight week when UFC held a pre-fight press conference for UFC 314: Volkanovski vs Lopes. Despite the names on the card—from Alexander Volkanovski to Paddy Pimblett, among the rest of the main card athletes—Silva played to the crowd, and they ate it up accordingly. Silva was happy to play both the face and heel against Bryce Mitchell, who remained stone-faced and serious amidst Silva’s barking and taunting, which included bringing a globe to the stage to reference Mitchell’s oft-mentioned belief that the earth is flat.
The faceoff was intense, and the buildup from there has been nothing short of explosive and contentious. The bout, despite sharing a card with several massive fights, is one of the more hotly anticipated matchups going down in Miami on April 12.
RELATED: 314 Press Conference Flashback
Silva was originally supposed to share the card with Prates, but after an injury to Geoff Neal, Prates now gets his second main event opportunity opposite Ian Machado Garry on April 26 in Kansas City. The bout is Prates’ first of the year, and he hopes to continue his fast rise up the welterweight division after collecting four knockout wins in 2024. His most recent pair of finishes over Li Jingliang and Neil Magny put him on everyone’s radar in a big way, and his matchup with Machado Garry is set to do the same
While most would enjoy The Fighting Nerds if they were just amicable and entertaining personalities who rocked fake glasses in the Octagon, the eye-popping results are why they are on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Pablo Sucupira leads the Sao Paolo based squad (he and Borralho founded the team in 2014) and enjoyed the growth of the team in 2024, but he has even bigger aspirations for 2025. When you look at what they’ve done and what they have set up for the next couple months, it’s hard to see the train slowing down any time soon.
UFC 314: Volkanovski vs Lopes took place live from Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on April 12, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!