Will Mauricio Ruffy ever return to the Fighting Nerds? That’s what fans have been wondering for a while now. Over the past few months, tension has gradually grown between Ruffy and Jean Silva at the São Paulo, Brazil-based MMA team, which once seemed unbreakable. The rift first became clear when Silva, who was once close to Ruffy, unfollowed him on social media. Reportedly, the issue kicked off when ‘One Shot’ chose to do his UFC 325 fight camp with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski—a potential future rival of Silva—at his gym in Australia.

Since then, their relationship has only grown more strained. For instance, last week, several Fighting Nerds stars, along with a coach, skipped Mauricio Ruffy’s corner during his highly anticipated fight against Rafael Fiziev in Sydney. Though Ruffy still managed to knock out Fiziev in the second round, it showed that not everything was a-ok between Mauricio Ruffy and the rest of the Fighting Nerds, especially Jean Silva. Well, a UFC legend has now shed more light on the precise reason for the schism between them.

Henry Cejudo explains the reason for the rift between Mauricio Ruffy and the Fighting Nerds

“I’ve been out there. These dudes are pretty close,” Henry Cejudo told Kamaru Usman on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. “But a little bit of what I heard—Mauricio Ruffy’s always kind of been… cuz Mauricio’s different, bro. Like, he’s not, you know, he’s different from all those dudes. He’s really just dedicated to fighting and his family.”

Since last year, Henry has been working closely with the Fighting Nerds in São Paulo. Naturally, with the two-division UFC champion and Olympic gold medalist mentoring them, the team has taken its ground game to a new level, benefiting stars like Caio Borralho, Jean Silva, Carlos Prates, and Rodolfo Vieira. Last year, when Henry Cejudo visited the Fighting Nerds, he helped the team refine their clinch transitions and wrestling techniques. However, Mauricio Ruffy was not part of the session. According to Cejudo, Ruffy doesn’t socialize much with the rest of the team.

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“He doesn’t seem to go out much with the guys from the team,” the dual champ added. “From what I’ve heard from people I know personally… I would think they would welcome him with open arms, cuz Mauricio Ruffy’s got a big heart. He’s a good dude. But with Jean Silva kind of being out there, it may just throw everybody off.”

Despite this, Mauricio Ruffy’s return to the Fighting Nerds still feels uncertain at the moment. At the UFC 325 post-fight press conference, ‘One Shot’ made it clear that he has always been part of the Fighting Nerds and isn’t planning to leave the gym. His short training stint with Alexander Volkanovski came with challenges, but they pushed each other to get ready for their fights, with a few teammates backing him throughout the process.

Who is on Ruffy’s side at the Fighting Nerds?

Not everyone opposed Mauricio Ruffy. In fact, Carlos Prates traveled to Australia to support Ruffy at UFC 325 and cheered for his teammate from the spectators’ area. After Ruffy knocked out Rafael Fiziev, he came out of the cage, and Prates and Ruffy embraced each other.

The welterweight contender later shared the moment on his Instagram. “This guy almost gave me a heart attack!” Prates wrote. He followed it with another message. “Congrats, brother @ruffy_mma. P.S.: The fight was fine, but the behind-the-scenes stuff, only we know.”

Similarly, Caio Borralho also showed support. He stayed on the livestream during the fight and cheered for Ruffy alongside Danile.

However, coach Pablo Sucupira did not attend the event and did not repost the victory on his Instagram, even though the team’s official page shared the knockout. This highlights the growing divide within the team.

At present, updates on Fighting Nerds’ future remain limited, but will the fighters continue to stick together amidst the apparent rift? Stay tuned for more.