Fight fans who have been watching the UFC

for at least the last year probably know exactly who “The Fighting Nerds” are and what they have done in the company. A handful of Brazilian mixed martial artists have taken the UFC by storm and have created the fastest-growing, most likable, and most impressive collective of fighters the sport has ever seen.

Let’s look closer at who “The Fighting Nerds” are, what they have accomplished, and what they are set up to do in the future.

The Origin Of The Fighting Nerds

How This Group Of Fighters Started

• Founded in 2014 by Caio Borralho and his coach, Pablo Sucupira.
• The two built the gym from the ground up, painting walls, installing a ring, and taking a data and analytic-driven approach to fighting.

In 2014, Caio Borralho, then a grappler, decided he wanted to learn striking and compete in MMA at a high level. He found a former fighter, Pablo Sucupira, who shared an interest in the analytical side of fighting. These two decided to start a gym together and began to build it.

The gym quickly grew with a great group of fighters who were also good human beings. When it was time to expand the team, Demian Maia’s coach, Wagner Mota, and fighter Flavio Alvaro were set to join. Alvaro even decided to take much less money because he loved the people in the gym. He decided to get compensated once fighters became the stars he knew they could be.

“The Fighting Nerds” gym believes in a unique approach to winning fights: fight smarter, not tougher.

The Gym’s Culture

What Do These Brazilian Fighting Nerds Believe In?

• The founders, Borralho and Sucupira, consider themselves “nerds.” Borralho loved school and tutored students in math and chemistry. Sucupira had a job in the corporate marketing world before becoming a full-time coach.
• They used their intelligence and analytical thinking to craft a system to win MMA fights.
• At the gym, they embrace “nerd” culture and set out to inspire “nerdy” people to do whatever they want in life and show them they can protect themselves against bullies.

“The Fighting Nerds” social media accounts will have the tagline “It’s bullying payback time” at the top of the account page. This is the basis of their philosophy at the gym formerly known as Club São Paulo. They want to inspire “nerdy” kids and adults to embrace their passions but also empower them to be able to do whatever they want, including protecting themselves against bullies.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu culture has grown with the “nerdy” population in America over the years, and this collective kind of fits right into that. Learning BJJ and other martial arts skills can give people so much confidence, even if they have never been confident in their own bodies before training.

Along with the empowerment from training, the gym offers English and public speaking courses, along with study sessions analyzing fights to improve their education of the sport. It’s all about empowering people to gain confidence and be part of a team.

On a technical level, Sucupira has developed a fighting system that allows them to use their minds to win fights more than their toughness. They look at each opponent as a “problem to solve” and spend a lot of time forming gameplans to prepare themselves for exactly what they need to do during the chaos of a cage fight.

Nerds And Their Genius Branding

What Makes This Team So Likable And Popular

• The plastic “nerd” glasses are the perfect uniform to grow the brand.
• The members of the gym all seem to be very outgoing and genuine in everything they do, while including everybody who will respect what they stand for.
• The most important part of the gym’s popularity is the performances inside the octagon.

The UFC, a company known for its strict bans on props being used by fighters and coaches in the octagon or at press conferences, gave Fighting Nerds the green light to bring their plastic glasses along with them at UFC events. Sucupira convinced them that the glasses were just the gym’s logo, and they agreed to let it happen.

Now, these glasses have become somewhat of a uniform for these fighters who train together. They are also the perfect prop to give other stars in the sport. The photos of fighters and public figures, like Mark Zuckerberg, wearing the glasses and posing with the team have gone viral over the last several months.

The team has an Instagram account with over 200k followers now, and they post video content regularly, showing off the personalities of these fighters and building the brand.

A Big Year For The Fighting Nerds

The Team’s Best Fighters Are Making Moves In 2025

• The most notable members of the team are currently 18-0 in the UFC, collectively.
• It was revealed that the team is looking to expand to the United States and open a new location in New Hampshire.

The four most notable fighters of The Fighting Nerds gym, Caio Borralho, Carlos Prates, Jean Silva, and Mauricio Ruffy, are currently 18-0 in the UFC.

Borralho and Prates are ranked contenders with massive fights coming up. Prates and Silva are set to take on ranked opponents at UFC 314. Ruffy is fresh off a highlight KO over Bobby Green at UFC 313, and Borralho will most likely have a title-eliminator fight in the summer.

These big fights will do so much for the gym and its brand, especially if they continue winning. The biggest news comes from Mauricio Ruffy, as he said the team is planning on expanding in 2025 by opening up a new location in New Hampshire.