Ian Garry ranks surging lightweight star the "best" among the Fighting Nerds, picks welterweight contender the "worst"

Ian Garry (left) talks about the Fighting Nerds (right). [Image credit: @iangarry, @fightingnerds on Instagram]

Ian Garry recently sat down with journalist Shakiel Mahjouri on his YouTube show to talk about MMA and the UFC. During their conversation, Mahjouri asked the No. 7-ranked UFC welterweight what he thought of the recent surge of MMA stable The Fighting Nerds in the UFC.

Ian Garry is facing one of the Fighting Nerds' standouts, Carlos Prates, at UFC Fight Night Kansas this weekend. When asked what he thinks of the UFC fighters in the new MMA team, Garry said (3:22):

"I just think they're all great. Like I think I think [Carlos] Prates is the worst of the four, okay. And I think [Mauricio] Ruffy is the best. I think the way Ruffy moves is phenomenal. Like, the way, just the flow, and the movement - it's just beautiful to watch. And then you look at someone like Caio [Borralho], who just everywhere is talented. Beat you on the feet, he can beat you on the ground, he's phenomenal jiu-jitsu. He's an absolute fridge of a man, you know."

Listen to Ian Garry talk about the Fighting Nerds here:

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Ian Garry continues to praise other members of the Fighting Nerds, lauds Jean Silva's tenacity

It appears Ian Garry has tremendous respect for the Fighting Nerds despite fighting one of their members this weekend. After praising Mauricio Ruffy and Caio Borralho, the Irish MMA star turned his attention to Jean Silva, who put Bryce Mitchell to sleep with a ninja choke at UFC 314 earlier this month.

Silva's aggressive and confident style in and out of the octagon seemed to have impressed Garry, who said (3:53):

"And then Jean [Silva]. Silva is a dog like, literally a dog. I know he was barking last week but that man just knows how to fight. And I think I love watching their guys fight. I think they have a great energy in the octagon. I think they have great confidence and you see that and I think that matters."

Ian Garry was last seen in action back in December 2024 in a close decision loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov, losing his undefeated record. Coincidentally, his opponent Carlos Prates is undefeated in the UFC, with five straight finishes under the promotion's banner.

The Fighting Nerds is becoming a superteam, with an impressive 18-0 record in the UFC as of 2025.

About the author

Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

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Edited by Ritwik Kumar