Pablo Sucupira’s kickboxing trajectory, although poorly documented, is the basis for the success of The Fighting Nerds, an MMA gym based in São Paulo, Brazil, which has gained recognition in the UFC since 2021.
The Legacy of The Fighting Nerds
Sucupira, 45 years old, is the founder and head coach of this team. His most prominent pupils, Caio Borralho, Jean Silva, Carlos Prates, and Mauricio Ruffy, have an impressive combined record of 21-1 in the UFC, with 60% of their performances generating post-fight bonuses. The team is about to star in two consecutive events, with Borralho facing Nassourdine Imavov in Paris and Silva measuring forces with Diego Lopes in San Antonio. A victory could catapult both fighters to compete for the title in their respective divisions. The core of The Fighting Nerds’ success lies in Sucupira, who had his own success in the ring almost two decades ago, when the record keeping wasn’t as precise. Although his official record is not available online, it is estimated to have been 13-3. His main goal as a fighter was to be the best in the world, but realizing he might not achieve it, he redirected his focus.Combat Club started by offering commercial kickboxing classes and eventually developed a professional Muay Thai team. Sucupira didn’t delve into MMA until 2014, when he met Borralho, a 21-year-old prospect whose focus reminded him of his own fighter mentality.I lost a fight by knockout, with a spinning elbow. It was in 2009. I was 29 years old and started thinking: ‘Maybe I’m too old to become a world champion’. But I loved this sport so much that I thought that, if I became a coach, maybe I could reach the top that way. So I left everything I was doing and opened my first gym, the Combat Club.
Pablo Sucupira
Together, Sucupira and Borralho began to perfect their style. One of the pillars of Sucupira’s philosophy is his observation that humans are the most deficient species in a fight. He admires figures like Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali, Anderson Silva, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, whom he includes in a mural in his gym, but believes that animals offer greater knowledge about the complexities of combat. Therefore, in addition to studying the legends of his discipline, Sucupira and his students analyze videos of nature on YouTube.I had left my hometown, I was alone, but I had this confidence in myself. And I think I just trusted [Sucupira] with all my heart, and he trusted me. I didn’t even know how to throw a jab correctly, but he was already telling me: ‘I know you’re going to be world champion because you know you’re going to be world champion. We just have to work on this’.
Caio Borralho
One of Sucupira’s favorite animals is the mongoose, a small mammal known for attacking venomous snakes. The mongoose is resistant to snake venom, but most importantly, it uses agility and reflexes to avoid being bitten. Sucupira seeks to apply this instinctive intelligence in his training. Borralho, with experience in judo and grappling, used to feel uncomfortable advancing and striking at close range. However, in his last two fights, he has managed to do so, achieving a knockout against Paul Craig and a decision over Jared Cannonier, where he essentially outstruck Cannonier in his own striking game. The keys for Borralho to make these changes were hard work in the gym and the adoption of this mentality of logic and animal movement.When you think about animals, they are not going to win by decision, they are going to hunt their prey and go for the kill. Humans don’t train for that. Humans don’t hunt. It’s natural for animals, so they understand the game better than we do.
Pablo Sucupira
Sucupira calls this dance between the mongoose and the snake “the invisible fight”, and its fighters practice it regularly. It is not unusual for Sucupira to have his athletes perform exercises in which they don’t even hit each other. It is a practice based on the reading of human movement, and it is the “secret” behind the success of The Fighting Nerds.It’s distance control. In and out, in and out, and suddenly, [the mongoose] kills this snake with this crazy movement that advances and stays close. Pablo shows me these videos all the time.
Caio Borralho
With a combined record of 21-1, it is plausible to suggest that The Fighting Nerds are close to dominating execution, and could be less than a year away from producing their first UFC champion. However, when discussing championships, it’s relevant to remember the team’s only blemish in the UFC. In April, Prates suffered a defeat by decision in five rounds against welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry, known for his technical and strategic style. Here arises the key question about The Fighting Nerds’ style: the way to survive a predator is to deny him the opportunity to kill, and although Prates was close to finishing Garry in the last round, he lost because Garry managed to outmaneuver him and turn most of the fight into a sport rather than a brawl. As The Fighting Nerds reach the top of the UFC and face technical, experienced, cunning, and well-prepared opposition, will their artistic and knockout-focused style continue to generate the same viral and violent moments they are accustomed to? Sucupira admits that no one can guarantee it. It’s the last thing he and his team have to prove. If they succeed, they will have completed a journey that began in 2009, when Sucupira realized that his path to the top would be in the corner, not in the ring.Watch a lion hunt. You will never see a lion trotting, wandering like a dog or a sheep. A lion goes straight and grabs its prey. It knows the right movement and the right moment to do it. We have studied this and now we, as human beings, have felt the search for perfect execution.
Jean Silva
This is a moment that will change our lives, I’m going to live it right now. We are going to test our fighting game at the highest level of MMA and, like everyone, I’m curious to see what happens. We don’t have much more to prove. I know everyone is waiting for the belt. The only goal we have left is the belt. It’s as if we had been a prospect, and now we want to see if our dreams are a reality. I’m curious, but I’m confident.
Pablo Sucupira
