UFC analyst defends The Fighting Nerds amid recent losing streak

It’s easy for fans to pile on when fighters are down on their luck, and one UFC analyst has seen enough.

Carlos Prates, Caio Borralho, Jean Silva, and Mauricio Ruffy were all riding hot streaks and representing The Fighting Nerds while doing so. The fighters gained a ton of buzz for their exciting fighting styles and personalities. While fans were singing the praises of all four men, they quickly turned on the quartet after they all dropped their most recent outings.

Michael Chiesa has grown tired of fair-weather fans and he defended The Fighting Nerds during an interview with MMAJunkie.com.

“Everybody online that’s saying, ‘Oh, The Fighting Nerds are done.’ Shut up,” Chiesa said. “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.”

Chiesa went on to share some advice for the rising Brazilian bruisers. He urged the group to focus more on their wrestling in order to stay viable inside the Octagon. Chiesa also suggested The Fighting Nerds should bring in wrestlers outside of the camp in order to brush up on their technique.

Prates nearly pulled off a late comeback in his UFC Kansas fight against Ian Machado Garry, but he dropped a unanimous decision. Borralho fell short in a bout against Nassourdine Imavov that may have determined the No. 1 contender for the UFC Middleweight Championship. Silva was stopped by Diego Lopes via TKO in their heated grudge match at Noche UFC.

Ruffy has received perhaps the most scrutiny out of all of The Fighting Nerds members. Many criticized his lack of grappling against Benoit Saint Denis on the main card of Imavov vs. Borralho. Ruffy was submitted in the second stanza.