It’s been a rough ride of late for the Fighting Nerds.
The Brazilian team entered 2025 on a high, with its biggest names climbing the rankings across multiple UFC weight classes.
The mood around the camp has taken a hit in recent months, however, following a succession of high-profile losses for the team’s top stars.
(22-7 MMA, 5-1 UFC) suffered the first loss of his UFC career against Ian Machado Garry in April, although “The Nightmare” has since returned to the win column with a spectacular knockout over Geoff Neal.
Both Maurcio Ruffy (12-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Caio Borralho (17-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) suffered losses at UFC Paris recently, while Jean Silva (16-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) became the latest Fighting Nerd to taste defeat when he was stopped by at Noche UFC last weekend.
Certain sections of the UFC fanbase seemed to revel in the team’s struggles, but UFC welterweight Michael Chiesa isn’t having it.
"Everybody online that's saying, 'Oh, The Fighting Nerds are done.' Shut up," Chiesa told MMA Junkie. "That's still one of the best teams in the world. This is what happens when you pit the best against the best. Some of those fights were really close. Caio Borralho vs. Nassourdine Imavov, that was a close fight. Carlos Prates has rebounded. I hate the people that just – the recency bias of everybody saying they're the best in the world to kind of sh*tting on them. Do away with that."
Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman suggested earlier this week that the Fighting Nerds could benefit from some extra work on the wrestling mats, and Chiesa agrees with that sentiment.
"If I was to give one bit of a critique if I was The Fighting Nerds: Put more emphasis on wrestling," Chiesa said. "You guys should bring in an American wrestler, bring in somebody from the Eastern Bloc to kind of help you guys fill that gap, because they do everything else perfect. That's just been the little chink in the armour so to say, is the wrestling. If they can figure that out, those guys are going to win a lot of big fights. They're going to win a lot of big fights regardless, but yeah, it's an incredible team."
