Poker Writer
The so-called “Fighting Nerds” of Brazil, run in part by top fighter Caio Borralho, are bringing mind games to mixed martial arts (MMA). In a recent interview, Borralho specifically mentioned his interest in poker, continuing an ongoing crossover between the card game and MMA.
The 32-year-old Borralho hails from the Northern Brazilian city of São Luiz. He has a 17-2-1 career MMA record (9-1 in Ultimate Fighting Championship) and is coming off a loss a few weeks back, the first since the beginning of his career. He is currently ranked No. 8 in the UFC middleweight rankings.
Borralho has openly discussed his broad interest in cerebral battles as well as physical ones, differentiating him from many fighters. A prolific chess player with more than 1,000 games, he has also started playing a lot of poker.
He isn’t the first or most prominent Brazilian athlete to do so. Ultra-popular soccer player Neymar regularly appears at the World Series of Poker and plays many high-stakes online tournaments, as well.
Borralho established Fighting Nerds with his coach to encourage fighters to embrace their true selves. He says that the response to his team’s branding has been very popular among young people in Brazil. His signature glasses look in the ring has encouraged young boys to emulate him and wear their glasses proudly rather than be embarrassed by them.
MMA and Poker
Borralho’s connection to poker seems to be surface-level as one of his many interests in games that challenge the mind, including aspects of his job. It’s not the first crossover between poker and MMA.
As Borralho himself explained to BBC Sport, there is a connection between the two ventures:
It’s because it’s about mind games. And it’s the way that I see fighting too. How to play with the mind, how to observe, how to read people, how to observe patterns and triggers. I think they are very similar.
The description of observing people to read them for patterns and triggers reads no differently than something one might find in a poker strategy book.
Here are more examples of poker and MMA intersecting over the years.
Sean O’Malley vs. ‘Frankie C’
One example of poker and MMA combining occurred earlier this year. In April, No. 1-ranked UFC bantamweight challenger Sean O’Malley and poker streamer Frank “Frankie C” Cucchiara had a two-part crossover challenge.
First, they took to the poker tables for a heads-up battle. Then, they followed up in the ring for a sparring session. The two filmed an 11-minute video that shows Frankie C trying his best to hang with the elite fighter. He lasts three rounds, though O’Malley keeps it competitive by pulling his punches.
One commenter on YouTube complimented the video, saying it was a good showing from both men:
I don’t think most people understand how challenging it is to hold your punches and still look good as a professional fighter. Sean did extremely well. This was a fair amount of pressure, and props to poker dude for lasting almost all three rounds. I certainly wouldn’t be able to.
Olivier Busquet vs. J.C. Alvarado
Back in 2016, well-known poker players Olivier Busquet and J.C. Alvarado engaged in a high-profile MMA fight. The bout received considerable hype after prominent poker pro Busquet put out a challenge on Twitter and Alvarado stepped up to accept.
Busquet went into the bout as a novice, while Alvarado had been on and off training Brazilian jiu-jitsu for a few years, which made him the favorite according to the negotiated prices of the prop bet. Despite a fairly significant weight disadvantage (187.5 pounds to 165), Alvarado had to put up $150,000 while Busquet put $120,000 at stake.
Despite a botched stream, the fight was captured by ringside video. The bout ended after three rounds with Busquet as the upset winner.
Colby Covington
Controversial fighter Colby Covington is a regular poker player and participates in many big events, particularly around his home base of Florida. According to the Card Player archives, the 37-year-old has more than 20 recorded cashes since 2022, mainly in Florida and at the WSOP.
His best career result was a 10th-place finish in 2024 WSOP Paradise $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em $5M GTD for more than $70,000. He also regularly plays Pot-Limit Omaha in addition to NLHE.
Georges St. Pierre
UFC legend Georges St. Pierre also had some minor involvement with poker several years ago. He performed the “Shuffle Up and Deal” during the 2012 WSOP Main Event as part of being a brand ambassador for 888poker at the time.
GSP also played in the Main Event, though he admitted he was entering with modest expectations.
“The odds of taking a normal guy on the street and him beating me up in a street fight are bigger than me winning the World Series of Poker,” he told ESPN.
