He competed on Dana White’s Contender Series seven times and signed six contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, winning 20 of 24 bouts and earning four bonuses in 2024.
Though it’s only been two years since the Fighting Nerds made their Octagon debut, there’s no denying that this Brazilian team has made a huge impact on the sport in a short space of time. Captained by former boxer Pablo Scupira, the team features seven fighters already with the UFC: Caio Borrallo, Mauricio Rufi, Bruna Brasil, Carlos Prates, Thiago Moises, Jean Silva and Keinan Kruszewski.
In an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, Sucupira revealed that the team was born out of his own frustrations as a fighter.
“I always say that a good coach is a player who finds solutions for his athletes out of their frustrations in the ring,” he said. “That was me too. I started boxing when I was 29 years old. I had good results but when I realised I would never be a world champion, I decided to focus my talents on developing as a coach.”
Sucupira cited John Danaher as his inspiration as a coach, while crediting Borrallo as a key figure in the founding of the Fighting Nerds.
“When Kaio enrolled as a freshman, the team’s name was Combat Club and our union gave birth to the Fighting Nerds. Kaio is more systematic and I’m more intuitive,” Sucupira said.
The manager has also strengthened his squad with the addition of two other big names in their respective fields: Vale Tudo legend Flavio Alvaro and Demian Maia’s grounds coach Wagner Mota.
“We complement each other. We all listen to each other’s opinions when studying our opponents and strategizing. That’s one of the characteristics of the Fighting Nerds,” Sucupira said.
After scoring a second-round knockout of Charles Jourdan at UFC 303 to give Silva his second win with the promotion, Sucupira is back in the United States and will accompany Silva in Denver on Saturday when his fighter takes on Drew Dober in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 59.
“UFC invited Jan and he agreed to fight a higher-division opponent with a knockout record in that weight class two weeks after the fight,” Sucupira said.
Sucupira is confident Silva will achieve his third UFC victory.
“No disrespect to Dober, but this is going to be a battle between Jean and his emotions,” he said. “If he controls himself, doesn’t get into a brawl, gets his timing right and takes advantage of the fact that Dober is going to be throwing a lot of punches in the air, I think he can knock him out in the second round. If he’s not in control, I’m willing to bet my ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus on the fight being decided by the judges.”
The Fighting Nerds leader is set to have a busy few weeks ahead.
“One week it’s Bruna Brasil, the next week it’s Kainan Kurchevski’s debut, then Icaro Brito’s debut. [Dana White’s Contender Series] August 13th. Actually, remember this name. If all goes according to plan, he will be the eighth UFC [athlete from] Fighting nerds. Our goal is to have 10 fighters in the UFC by the end of 2024.”
