Who Are The Fighting Nerds? Inside UFC’s Only Data-Driven Team

Every now and then, a gym comes along that changes the way people think about fighting. For Brazil’s Fighting Nerds, that’s exactly the case. They don’t just train for war inside the cage; they study it like a science experiment. From taped-up glasses to taped-up fists, they’ve embraced the “nerd” tag and turned it into a weapon.

With stars rising across divisions, this young team has taken the UFC by storm. But who are they really? And what makes their approach unlike anything else in MMA?

Who are The Fighting Nerds in UFC?

“We are the nerds who like to fight. The real point is to inspire people.” Caio Borralho once told ESPN about his team. ‘The Natural,’ who has cemented his name in the conversation for the next middleweight title contender, founded the team with Pablo Sucupira. 

Borralho, who used to teach chemistry and math, met Scupuria back in 2014. Back then, ‘The Natural’ was a grappler and wanted to work on his striking. Scupuria, too, was not involved in MMA. The Fighting Nerds’ head coach was a Muay Thai competitor and a boxing instructor.

But their 2014 meeting changed that. They knew they had something special between the two of them and wanted to keep working like that. And voila, just like that, the Fighting Nerds MMA team was born. Scupuria and Borralho literally built the gym, officially known as Combat Club São Paulo, with their own hands.

MMA: UFC 301 – Craig vs Borralho May 4, 2024 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BRAZIL Paul Craig red gloves fights Caio Borralho blue gloves during UFC 301 at Rio Arena. Rio de Janeiro Farmasi Arena RJ BRAZIL, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJasonxSilvax 20240504_gma_db3_0135

“I painted the walls. We built a big ring. We put a big Octagon, the same size as the UFC Octagon. We built that inside the gym. We actually built that together,” ‘The Natural’ would recall in an interview with ‘MMA Junkie’.

Pretty soon, two turned to four and four turned to a dozen. Today, the Fighting Nerds boast the most exciting and dangerous young bucks in the entire MMA world. 

Borralho, of course, is already in the top ten and looks one away from a title shot with his upcoming clash at UFC Paris against Nassourdine Imavov. Mauricio Ruffy, who knocked out King Green with the cleanest wheel kick to the veteran’s head at UFC 313, is knocking down the doors at lightweight and will also be fighting in Paris, while knockout artist Carlos ‘The Nightmare’ Prates is doing the same at welterweight.

Rounding off the team, of course, is the incredibly entertaining featherweight Jean Silva, who submitted Bryce Mitchell with ease at UFC 314. So where did the “nerd” identity really come from? Let’s take a closer look.

The meaning behind the nerd identity

For Borralho and his team, the glasses are more than just a gimmick. They’re a symbol. A way to flip the script for kids who felt out of place.

In his interview with ESPN, the Brazilian star explained, “There’s a message for all the people who have been bullied around the world. Some kids wear glasses but don’t like to because they feel they are ugly. Imagine [what it is like] to see the best fighters in the world kicking the s–t out of people and are proud to wear their glasses?”

This identity has become the team’s calling card. From walkouts to post-fight celebrations, the glasses are always there. They remind fans that toughness isn’t about appearance. It’s about grit, intelligence, and the will to fight back. But the Fighting Nerds aren’t just playing with imagery. They’ve added brains to brawn in a way no other team has.

Data science as their secret weapon

“That whole team, apparently, the Fighting Nerds, I was talking to [UFC play-by-play commentator] Jon Anik about this. He said they have data scientists who work for the team. Data scientists, who analyze techniques and break things down, identify what’s effective and patterns. They find patterns — patterns of opponents, what the person does, when they do it, how they do it… That’s a team of f—-ng savages.” Joe Rogan would tell Joey Diaz on episode #2309 of the JRE podcast.

And indeed, one of the main reasons that the Fighting Nerds team is so successful is because of their brainy approach to fighting. These guys don’t just train hard in the gym. They study their opponents. “There are people here within the Fighting Nerds that map out everything and give it to us. Definitely, those guys are the nerds behind the nerds,” Mauricio Ruffy would tell ESPN.

These ‘nerds behind the nerds’ are a dedicated Analytics team led by Ariel Cyrulin, who told ESPN that he “got here (in the Fighting Nerds team) because of science and coding.” This analytics team watches tape on their fighters’ opponents, analyzes every subtlety of their opponents’ games, finds patterns, and game plans according to it. And the result is self-evident. The Fighting Nerds are dominating the UFC and entertaining fans while they are at it!

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