Einstein, Chess & Poker - The 'nerd' 'kicking Ass' In The Ufc

Caio Borralho has ever known he is different to astir fighters.

As a teenager, nan 32-year-old Brazilian taught mathematics and chemistry because he is "good pinch numbers".

At his gym successful Sao Paulo, a mural of trailblazing intelligence Albert Einstein gazes complete nan main training area.

Einstein is flanked by legendary fighters Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, Anderson Silva and Minotauro Nogueira - but it is Einstein who is cardinal to Borralho's story.

Borralho is simply a keen chess player, racking up much than 1,000 games online, and has precocious started playing a batch of poker.

If location is simply a subject, personification aliases crippled that is grounded successful problem-solving, past it usually piques nan Brazilian's interest.

"It's because it's astir mind games. And it's nan measurement that I spot fighting too," Borralho tells BBC Sport.

"How to play pinch nan mind, really to observe, really to publication people, really to observe patterns and triggers. I deliberation they are very similar."

Borralho faces French middleweight Nassourdine Imavov successful nan main arena astatine UFC Paris connected Saturday.

During conflict week, Borralho and his coaching squad will beryllium wearing their signature lens-less achromatic integrative glasses pinch achromatic portion successful nan centre.

It is simply a look that plays into nan ethos of their team, nan 'Fighting Nerds'.

When Borralho was younger he utilized to get bullied for his interests, which he describes arsenic "nerdy", truthful he group up nan Fighting Nerds pinch his coach Pablo Sucupira successful response.

"We want to correspond emotion and courage, you know? We want to promote group to beryllium themselves," said Borralho.

"Imagine a nerd that is suffering bullying and getting picked on. They watch a feline successful nan UFC that considers himself a nerd and he's kicking ass, truthful it's decidedly a connection of encouragement.

"This is decidedly thing really important to maine because I cognize really difficult it is to beryllium connected nan different side."

Borralho, who has won his first 7 fights successful nan UFC, says nan consequence to his team's branding has been overwhelmingly positive.

"I've had a batch of parents coming to maine and saying 'my boy hated to deterioration glasses because everybody was making nosy of him and correct now, aft seeing you guys, cipher makes nosy of him and he loves to deterioration them'," said Borralho.

"This is important to maine - it's not astir conscionable winning aliases losing, it's astir nan connection that you pass, that you bring, that you time off for nan different generation."

The Fighting Nerds are achieving awesome occurrence successful nan UFC, pinch Borralho's team-mate Mauricio Ruffy taking connected Benoit Saint-Denis successful nan co-main arena successful Paris.

Ruffy, for illustration Borralho, has had an unbeaten commencement to his UFC career, winning his first 3 fights and knocking retired Bobby Green pinch a spectacular spinning wheel-kick successful March.

Carlos Prates, meanwhile, is generating fanfare aft knocking retired Geoff Neal past month. He faces Britain's Leon Edwards successful November.

Borralho says their occurrence is down to intelligence and strategical readying alternatively than their physicality.

"I deliberation it's nan astir important point - your conflict IQ, your intelligence, your expertise to support your strategies moreover nether stressful and precarious situations," said Borralho.

"What group usually spot is simply a beingness point but what group don't usually spot is really nan mind is progressive successful this game, and I deliberation that's a lot."

Borralho points to a triumph complete Paul Craig past May, erstwhile he waited for nan Scotsman to regain his feet alternatively than prosecute pinch him connected nan ground, of an illustration erstwhile his intelligence gave him nan advantage.

"I cognize that I person bully jiu-jitsu to waste and acquisition pinch him but I was smart capable to make him guidelines up and I wanted to sound him out," said Borralho.

"Not because of ego but because I knew that was nan champion measurement to do it. And past I did it."

A triumph complete Imavov could put Borralho successful rod position for a middleweight title changeable against Khamzat Chimaev.

Borralho has 1 oculus connected title golden but looking forward, he wants to constitute his sanction into nan UFC history books.

"I want to beryllium nan astir intelligent combatant successful nan history of UFC," said Borralho.

"When group deliberation astir conflict IQ, they deliberation astir Georges St-Pierre, they deliberation astir Jon Jones, and they're going to deliberation astir Caio Borralho. That's really I want to do it."