The Combating Nerds turned the cool children in 2024.
No MMA group turned heads greater than the Nerds over the previous 12 months as they exploded into the UFC rankings with impactful wins unfold throughout their skilled group.
Led by coaches Pablo Sucupira, Flavio Alvaro and Wagner Mota, contenders emerged as Caio Borralho, Carlos Prates, Jean Silva and Mauricio Ruffy all went undefeated and every displaying thrilling battle skills.
Along with their elite combating abilities, Sucupira and his class have put forth A-grade branding and self-expression. The signature nerd glasses have turn into a staple of their battle nights and have even been worn by the likes of Elon Musk and Joe Rogan.
“When you consider a nerd man, you at all times see a man who desires to be one of the best within the classroom,” Borralho instructed MMA Junkie in August. “The nerd, if he’s going right into a take a look at and he took a B+, he can be upset. Like, ‘I needed my A+.’ … Now we have an enormous message to encourage folks. We’ve seen quite a lot of bully issues occurring on the planet. Lots of this sh*t occurring, it’s bully payback time.”
Unofficially fashioned in 2014 and constructed from scratch by the coaching-student bond of Sucupira and Borralho, the group’s first UFC battle was Borralho in 2021. As he climbed the ranks and earned the gymnasium its first UFC headliner in 2024, Prates and Silva flew up their divisional ladders.
In 2024, Borralho defeated Paul Craig and Jared Cannonier. Carlos Prates debuted with an enormous knockout of Trevin Giles – foreshadowing of the knockouts of Charles Radtke, Li Jingliang and Neil Magny (in a most important occasion) that got here later.
Ruffy knocked out Jamie Mullarkey, then defeated James Llontop by determination. Bruna Brasil and Thiago Moises additionally picked up UFC victories.
For these causes, The Combating Nerds is MMA Junkie’s 2024 Health club of the 12 months.
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