Latest news with #TasmanianDevil
The Guardian
17 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
Ten Tasmanian devil joeys discovered during pouch check of endangered marsupials
Researchers at Aussie Ark have found 10 Tasmanian devil joeys during the first pouch check of the endangered marsupial's 2025 breeding season, which runs from February to June each year.
USA Today
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
New 'Lilo & Stitch' falls short of first film's unhinged brilliance
New 'Lilo & Stitch' falls short of first film's unhinged brilliance Show Caption Hide Caption 'Lilo & Stitch' trailer: Disney's furry alien goes live action Newcomer Maia Kealoha stars as a Hawaiian girl who makes friends with a furry ball of alien mayhem in Disney's live-action "Lilo & Stitch." If Disney were to replace Mickey Mouse as its mascot, the only choice that probably wouldn't cause a global riot is Stitch. That adorably furry mix of E.T., the Tasmanian Devil and a rambunctious puppy has become one of the most beloved animated characters in the company's iconic lineup. So it's a little head-scratching why there's not more of the big-eared alien weirdo in the new live-action remake 'Lilo & Stitch' (★★½ out of four; rated PG; in theaters May 23). Director Dean Fleischer Camp's family adventure feels like an excessively earnest Disney Channel movie compared with the delightfully unhinged 2002 cartoon. That's great for those who want more of a human connection but not so much if you're more jazzed about Stitch wrecking a bunch of stuff. The updated 'Lilo' pulls back on the sci-fi action to focus instead on the emotional story of two orphaned human siblings, though it begins the same as the first flick. Stitch (aka Experiment 626) is deemed too dangerous to exist by the United Galactic Federation, and escapes authorities in a flurry courtesy of a space police cruiser. Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox He crash lands in Hawaii near the home of young Lilo (newcomer Maia Kealoha). She's a rebellious 6-year-old who gives her big sister/guardian Nani (Sydney Agudong) fits, and Nani is desperately trying to keep social services from taking Lilo away. Lilo visits the local pound where she meets (and immediately falls for) Stitch, whom everyone assumes is a pooch even though he looks more like a blue koala bear. The sisters' lives get more fun and also more stressful as Stitch causes mayhem wherever he goes (from surfing and driving to some antics with a soda gun). Meanwhile, a couple of other aliens are dispatched to bring him back: his mad scientist inventor Jumba (Zach Galifianakis) and Earth-loving oddball Pleakley (Billy Magnussen). The new 'Lilo & Stitch' takes a much more grounded approach to the plot, with some changes from the original movie. For example, the antagonistic alien brute Captain Gantu is left out. While the OG Jumba and Pleakley wore random clothing as a disguise, their updated counterparts use holograms to appear human – which just seems to be an excuse to include a couple of recognizable faces. And Ving Rhames' tough-guy social worker Cobra Bubbles is essentially two characters in the remake: The new Cobra (Courtney B. Vance) is a CIA agent searching for Stitch, too, while Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrere) is the social worker concerned about Nani and Lilo's home life. One aspect that's improved in the revamp is Lilo and Nani's relationship. Kealoha is precocious enough as the Elvis-loving Lilo, leaning more troublemaker than her animated self. And Agudong makes the most of Nani's character reinvention. (Rather than just trying to get a job, she has a whole subplot about going to college to study marine biology.) There are some nifty nods to the first film. The casting of Carrere, who originally voiced Nani, is a nice touch. And Chris Sanders (who directed the animated version alongside Dean DeBlois) also returns to give voice to all Stitch's signature growls, snarls and yells. That old 'Ohana means family' riff still hits right in the feels, though what this latest outing lacks most is the first film's electric charm. It's surprising considering that Camp crafted the sweetly bizarre 'Marcel the Shell With Shoes On' – this 'Stitch' settles on being a fine retread instead of a rabble-rousing romp. Stitch, in his own peculiar way, sums it up perfectly: This 'Lilo & Stitch' is 'broken but still good.' Even if it's ultimately an unnecessary new take on a chaotic masterpiece.
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Inside the monsters' lair: How paedophiles raped underage girls in 'filthy hovel'... and the sick nickname they gave it
Shocking pictures have revealed the 'filthy hovel' used by a grooming gang to abuse underage girls after plying them with drugs and alcohol. The decrepit property, in Blackrod near Bolton, was described as a 'lawless den of iniquity' by a horrified judge as he sentenced the 10 depraved abusers this week. They were called 'monsters' by their terrified victims who were forced to down booze and take cannabis and cocaine before being raped. Another girl was so traumatised she told police she would 'rather be dead' than re-live what she experienced in that house of horrors. During the trial it was revealed that the gang had a twisted nickname for their lair – 'the party house'. Chilling images have now revealed the disgusting conditions the girls were forced to endure. Bedrooms covered in dirt, scattered belongings, drugs detritus and revolting grime-covered pillows and duvets. Bins are seen overflowing with rubbish and almost every surface is full with empty beer cans, discarded items or food containers. Both rooms are a mess with clothes and bags thrown around the place without a second thought A cabinet in one of the bedrooms shows crude images of male genitalia surrounded by messy writing and childlike scribbles. Mattresses in the two bedrooms are spotted with unsightly brown patches with clothes, including a novelty Tasmanian Devil tie, left thrown everywhere. The bathroom is covered in dirt and grime with thick greasy patches on the floor and empty shower gel bottles left dumped on surfaces. A single pink toothbrush can be seen chucked at the sight of the filthy toilet. Outside two children's scooters are dumped in the back garden next to forgotten patio furniture and more scattered rubbish. The final six members of the gang were jailed yesterday at Liverpool Crown Court following a three month trial. Victims described the men as 'monsters' led by ringleader Ashley Darbyshire, 28. Speaking on Monday, Judge Simon Medland said as he jailed Darbyshire: 'In time you introduced [one of the victims] to your friends and acquaintances and the community of drug takers, drinkers and wastrels at the Vicarage Road West address of Cory Barrett which had become a lawless den of iniquity, a filthy hovel in which sexual offending, drug taking and drinking took place.' Darbyshire was jailed for 15 years after he admitted a string of 19 offences involving five girls - including one of raping a naked 15-year-old girl after tying her up before another defendant also raped her. A closer look reveals a chilling remnant of what used to be a family home as a young child is pictured Disturbing images show how bins overflow with rubbish and empty crisp packets lie scattered on the floor The court heard Darbyshire had a specific sexual interest in young teenage girls, having deliberately groomed and repeatedly sexually abused one victim from the age of 13. He also pleaded guilty to making Category C indecent images of another girl. The gang members were arrested in 2023 following Greater Manchester Police launching Operation Pavarotti, the force's investigation into child sexual exploitation allegations in the area. The inquiries resulted in thirteen men charged with more than 50 child grooming sex offences including raping girls as young as 14. In total, ten members of the abhorrent gang have been sentenced to almost 87 years behind bars - with one being handed a suspended sentence. Darbyshire would befriend the girls online and messaged them on social media before convincing them to meet him. The callous behaviour came to light after one of the men crashed a stolen car at high speed in 2018 while drunk, causing injury to main, then-15-year-old victim who informed officers what had been going on. Giving victim impact statements to court one girl said: 'This is the story of how these individuals destroyed my life forever. 'I think nothing can hurt me as bad as what they did to me, but I'm still terrified of everything and everyone around me. I can't even go outside on my own. 'I suffered every form of abuse from each of these individuals, and they continue to haunt me every day. What they don't realise is it's not okay to take someone's life just to get a quick fix. 'I'd rather be dead most days than deal with all this mental torture and memories. 'Because of these men, I will never be able to live a normal life again. I'm too scared just to do simple tasks such as going outside or holding down a job, even simply being naked.' To conclude, she added: 'I am forced, by my own brain, to relive every second with these vile people, over and over again. No amount of prison time for them can make that go away. I live in my own prison now and that is what they have done to me.' Ben Lawrence, prosecuting, told the court: 'At various times she [the victim] considered herself to be in relationship with a number of the defendants. 'However, the feeling wasn't mutual. Defendants committed both consensual and non-consensual offences against her. 'They were, of course, content if she consented to sexual activity. However, if she didn't consent they would do it anyway.' He said that the defendants were part of 'a malign friendship group, which sought to prey on her once it became clear that another man had been able to have sex with her repeatedly.' After the hearing, CPS North West Senior Crown Prosecutor Gill Petrovic said, 'The way the men groomed and coerced the young girls from their community for their own sexual gratification was manipulative and appalling. 'They exploited the girls with no concern for them or the impact the abuse from a young age would have on their lives. 'Sexual abuse can cause lifelong physical and emotional trauma. As their abusers begin their sentences, I hope the women can now begin to move forward knowing that because of their evidence and support, the men have been brought to justice. 'The CPS is dedicated to pursuing justice for victims of child sexual abuse and will continue to work with our policing partners to prosecute the perpetrators of these heinous acts - no matter how much time has passed since they committed their crimes.' Darbyshire, 28, was jailed for 15 years, Daniel James Flatters, 34, was jailed for seven years, Richard Haslam, 36, was jailed for 16 years, Jack Poulson, 32, was jailed for 17 years and Corey Barrett, 24, was jailed for 12 years. Brandon Harwood, 25, was jailed for 10 years, Ross Corley, 30, was jailed for two years and four months, Elliott Turner, 26, was jailed for two years, James Fitzgerald, 36, was jailed for five years and six months, and Harvie Aspden, 25, was sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison, suspended for two years.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Revenge of the Nerds: Inside the ruthless rise of UFC's newest avengers
They do not sit around with compasses or abacuses, and you won't find a pocket protector within a 10-block radius of their hub in Sao Paolo, Brazil, but the Fighting Nerds love the idea of a calculated risk. Sitting around an Airbnb in early April in Miami, nearly a full week before his fight with Bryce Mitchell, Jean Silva is still days away from fully morphing into the 'Lord' figure that showed up on fight night at UFC 314, but there is a ready-made depravity in his eyes when I ask about the demons Mitchell accused him of carrying around. Those eyes roll back to the whites before he returns the pupils to me. 'He's looking at you like you're Bryce Mitchell,' says his coach and Fighting Nerds mastermind, Pablo Sucupira. At this moment it's as though Sucupira has smuggled in the Tasmanian Devil himself to South Florida, and he's not too sure he can predict its behavior. Silva grabs my digital recorder and growls — a little too like Regan MacNeil, if we're being honest. Then he says into the mic end, as if delivering a happy punch line: 'F*** Bryce Mitchell!' It sounds like Brights Meeshell in his non-English speaking Portuguese, but he's smiling as he says it. That smile relieves all tension. The next thing I know he has a piece of candy he wants me to try. It's called Paçoquita, a crumbly peanut and honey candy from Brazil, which he very much likes and travels with. His eyes are wide open with anticipation as I open the wrapper. I try a bite, and he is pleased that I like it. This is a good candy, and the thing is even if it wasn't, I am not going to tell a Fighting Nerd that his candy sucks. They are the sweetest assassins ever assembled. They are a collection of misfits, too. Strays. A four-eyed foursome and a silvery coach with very different pasts, come together to … what? Kick a historical amount of ass? Slay everyone from 145 to 185 pounds? Become the rulers of MMA, not just in the dictatorial sense but also in the mathematical? Carlos Prates, Caio Borralho, Mauricio Ruffy and Silva — the Fighting Nerds collective, as we know them — are a combined 24-0 in the UFC, including appearances on Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS). All of them broke into the UFC through DWCS. Of the 24 wins, 16 have come via knockout or submission. And after each vanquishing, the Nerds sport these ridiculous plastic glasses with tape on the bridge of the nose and on the hinge, holding them together. The very symbol of poindexter-level nerdom. It brightens all moods in the MMA space, because it runs so contrary. Those glasses aren't just to showcase high fighter IQs, but that a movement like this is possible. Not an individual, but a team. And an idea. What should be weakness is a declaration of strength. After Mitchell wondered aloud on his own podcast whether Adolph Hitler might make for a fun fishing buddy, the UFC loosed Silva on him. He became a sort of punishment. He knew just what to do, too. He handed Mitchell a small globe, so as to demonstrate that the world isn't flat (as Mitchell suspects). He baited him the entire way up to UFC 314, leaving it up to the cosmos to decide what's unholy. And after he choked Mitchell unconscious, lying cross-eyed on the canvas, Silva leaned over his uncomprehending body and barked like a dog. Jean Silva reacts after choking Bryce Mitchell unconscious. (Jeff Bottari via Getty Images) It almost felt too vicious. 'People talk about the high finish rate of the Nerds, and there are two reasons for that,' Sucupira tells me six days before the scene of the crime at UFC 314. 'We understand it's not just that finish rate, but how we're going to do media day, how we handle ourselves. All of it. It's all part of entertainment. We understand that the UFC needs that, and wants that. That's one point.' The other? 'The other point is that the fighting style I developed is not from other fighters,' he says. 'It's from animals. I like to watch an animal hunt another animal. When an animal hunts another animal, he cannot win by decision. He needs to kill the other animal. Animals hunting other animals is what inspired me. So that is the mindset we have at the Fighting Nerds.' What Coach seems to be saying is, don't be duped by the glasses. (, Zuffa LLC. Design: Henry Russell, Yahoo Sports.) In a way, the Fighting Nerds vision is a paradox, as it all started with Caio Borralho's poor eyesight. He is nearsighted. He can see targets in close, but nothing out yon. He says he feels naked without his glasses, which means he's more naked than anyone else when he takes off his shoes and shirt to fight. More vulnerable. And, in calculating his deficiencies in trying to deduce a strength, more dangerous. It's in Borralho's image that the Fighting Nerds became a thing in 2014. He met Sucupira — who'd fought professionally as a Muay Thai fighter and as a boxer — back when the gym was generically known as Combat Club. That was the name of the operation since 2009, yet nobody cared for it, so they started playing around with others. For a hot minute it was the MMA Big Riders, which was soon discovered to be too close to a common term used for those who try to curry special favor. Then it became the Nerds da Porrada, which is Portuguese for 'brawler nerds.' Then it was Nerds da Luta, which — 'because the UFC is American' — was eventually translated to the Fighting Nerds. 'I thought of all these different names,' Sucupira says. 'Then I thought, man, we're kind of nerds. Caio was my big athlete back then. I started to ask people about the name, the Fighting Nerds, and people said that's a crappy name. Then I talked to Caio, and Caio loved the name. Because he was a nerd. He was a chemistry teacher, a true nerd. I thought, that's a good name. That's how it started.' Borralho's myopia didn't prevent him from seeing the big picture, and his vision spread to others. Soon there were nerds showing up out of the woodwork. Women and men. UFC's Mayra Buena Silva dons the glasses now, and so does Thiago Moises. Today the gym in Sao Paulo is 60 strong, with honorary nerds popping up every day. After Michal Oleksiejczuk flattened Sedrigues Dumas at UFC 314, he put on a pair of the now-famous frames, with Borralho standing proudly in his corner. Michal Oleksiejczuk dons the now-famous glasses after his UFC 314 win. (Jeff Bottari via Getty Images) The thing is, you don't have to be a scholar to be a Fighting Nerd. If you have a love of fighting? All good. A hunter's mentality? Aim your arrows. A solidarity against bullying? That's a common theme on the team, because Borralho himself — who was built like a runt until he hit a growth spurt at age 16 — was bullied throughout his school years. The glasses are a triumph, a revelation of deeper identity. They've come to stand for untold perseverances, and as a general warning to be careful judging a book by its cover. In that way, the glasses are meant to magnify the contents of the fighter. And some of what gets magnified would never be described as bookish. Some of those who wear the glasses smoke half-a-pack of cigarettes a day and like to stay out until late into the night, warming his hands to whatever chaos is out there to find. 'Carlos?' Sucupira says, shaking his head. 'Carlos is crazy, bro.' Carlos Prates, the welterweight who is the UFC's version of Ricardo Mayorga. The rogue figure of the group. He was supposed to be in Miami with the whole team, but was pulled from the card when his opponent Geoff Neal was forced to withdraw. ('That made him very grumpy,' Sucupira says, 'you wouldn't want to talk to him when he's in a bad mood anyway.') Fortunately, Prates was redirected into a main event slot against Ian Garry, which takes place this Saturday at UFC Kansas City. Whenever Carlos' name comes up, which is often, it's like genuine awe at the defiant brother who everyone has deep affection for, if only because he can't be held to ordinary standards of conduct. 'He likes to party, bro,' Sucupira says. 'The thing is, Carlos, just like Jean, he's kind of crazy. The way they discovered to keep their crazy in check was to fight. If those guys go a long time without fighting, it's going to be a problem for them. Jean, he fought like 12 times in three years. Carlos fought the same, maybe even a little bit more. What they do to stay sane is they fight a lot. This keeps their crazy down.' I like to watch an animal hunt another animal. When an animal hunts another animal, he cannot win by decision. He needs to kill the other animal. So that is the mindset we have. Pablo Sucupira Prates fought four times in the UFC in 2024 alone, winning every fight by knockout. There was a scale of execution which should be noted. He didn't just beat Li Jingliang in Perth, he methodically turned his face into target practice for his left hand. Nor did he pounce when he hurt Jingliang with it towards the end of the second round. He let him recover just enough to hit Jingliang with it again. And again. The last one, the satisfier of the whole wicked sequence, dropped Jingliang along the fence, and it was as though he'd be shot. He rolled onto his back, with his limbs flopping dead to his side. Neil Magny? Poor Neil probably never should've signed on the dotted line. Prates delivered a left-hand walk-off that left Magny face-planted in the canvas. He strolled away with the attitude of a guy flicking a cigarette butt into the gutter at the end of his lunch break. Fast and easy, which — as we learned this past week — is just the way his mommy likes it. Where would a loose cannon like him be if not for the Fighting Nerds? 'I like to say I become a fighter because I didn't like to work, and now the thing I do most in my life is work,' he says. 'Because every day I have to do some videos on the YouTube channel or Instagram, and then I need to sign something. Now we have some cards for UFC to sign, a lot of cards, and then I go back to the training. It doesn't stop.' Ask any Fighting Nerd, and they will tell you that Prates — who is perhaps at his tamest when the glasses come out in victory — is barely suppressing the wildman locked inside. 'They think that's me?' he says, putting on his most innocent face before smiling an ornery smile. 'I think the same. Usually I like to say, 'You have just one life.' But I'm trying to get better and better take care about my health and things like that. Be more athlete than fighter.' That's a tough equation for a dude who has Muay Thai tattooed across his chest and a pack of cigarettes in the locker. (, Zuffa LLC. Design: Henry Russell, Yahoo Sports.) To look at Caio Borralho is to look the Fighting Nerds Brahma right in the face. His eyes look through the lens to see. His teeth are extraordinarily white, and through those he takes special care to enunciate his words. His English? The best on the team. There's that popular meme where Zach Galifianakis is staring off almost inwardly while mathematical symbols drift through his vision. That's like Borralho, except that his ears are these extraordinary cautionary tales that look like wads of chewed-up gum. Those ears signal danger. Borralho is the archetype. The grand poobah of the Nerds. He knows his way around an algebra equation and reads more than the rest. He likes books on cryptocurrency, stocks, self-improvement. He is a self-confessed 'numbers guy,' who before finding joy in punching people's faces was a teacher in both math and chemistry back in the northeast of Brazil, just like his grandfather. 'I was giving classes to young kids in the neighborhood and all that,' he says. 'I came to Sao Paulo to work with Demian Maia, and I met Pablo through a student of his, Bruno Murata. Pablo's a small guy, but he knows how to punch, he knows how to move, dodge. At the time I was just starting my career. He beat the s*** out of me and I was like, 'I think this guy is the guy I need to follow.'' Caio Borralho reacts after his knockout victory against Paul Craig at UFC 301. (Alexandre Loureiro via Getty Images) Borralho, who at age 32 is also the elder statesman of the Fighting Nerds, came to Miami to be here for Silva. And to help Oleksiejczuk turn things around, see if some of that Fighting Nerd magic might rub off. Caio is the polar opposite of Carlos in how grounded he is, and he thinks that range of personalities is really what makes his club unique. 'If you see all the groups that [have] a lot of success, you see a lot of musical groups like Backstreet Boys and all these guys,' he says, 'you see like the Fantastic Four or the Avengers and all that — they bring together different kinds of people. People who are way different, but they come together for the same concept. So that's the power of it. You have everybody that is different but is bringing something to the one power.' It's not common in MMA to have a true team, the kind of collective that associates fates, one and all. Back in the day, the Miletich Fighting Systems in Bettendorf, Iowa, had a range of champions in Jens Pulver, Matt Hughes, Robby Lawler, Miletich himself and Tim Sylvia. It was more of a factory for Midwest wrestlers than anything else, a group of similar minded individuals. Team Quest had Dan Henderson, Randy Couture and Matt Lindland, but same thing — individuals in a business venture, who trained under the same roof. There wasn't a running team tally. To mention Henderson didn't have much to do with Lindland, as they weren't really tied at the hip. The old IFL, which had literal teams? Wasn't real. Nobody bled Quad City Silverback black and gold. The GFL? LOL. More like DOA. 'The thing is, nobody understood the power that an MMA team could have,' Sucupira says. 'If you look at the NBA, you see LA, Boston, they are really powerful teams. They are bigger than the players. When you think about MMA, there are no teams, just the players. So there is a spot there that nobody saw. Because we are not just a team. We're a concept. We're a brand. We're a tribe. Nobody understood yet the power that an MMA team could have.' Maurico Ruffy, Jean Silva and Caio Borralho pose backstage in Miami, Florida. (Mike Roach via Getty Images) Borralho was the concept, the big brain by which all else orbits. The glasses connect everyone to his vision. There are others involved. Analysts. Coaches. Fighters who like to pore over tape and break down opponents for the Fighting Nerds, to identify every weakness and every opening that can be exploited. Opponents are story problems to be solved: X leaves his hands down when circling to the right, and Y found success putting him on his back foot, therefore… 'That's exactly how I see it all,' Borralho says. 'More analytical, that's really the thing. I take all the emotions out. I like to watch fights with no sound so I can't be emotional with the fight. It's better that way.' He literally adjusts his glasses as he talks about this. 'I've always done that since the beginning of my career,' he says. 'All I've done besides training is watching. That's pretty much what I was doing at home. I'd train, then I'd go home and I'd watch four or five hours of tape, studying a lot of guys. Then after that, I go back training, go back to the home, eat, rest, and then the next day start all over again.' The others look up to Caio, the big brother of the team. When I asked Prates who of the core foursome of Fighting Nerds will be the first champion among them, he doesn't hesitate. 'Caio [is] going to be first,' he says. Yet Caio thinks bigger. 'I can see four or five belts in our gym,' he says. 'I think for sure it's the hardest sport in the world, the top level, the highest level in the world. But I think we're showing that we can do it. I think we're showing everyone — the fans and the UFC — that we can house and hold a lot of belts at the same time.' The time is coming where we'll find out if his calculations are correct. (, Zuffa LLC. Design: Henry Russell, Yahoo Sports.) It's Sucupira's wife, Mariana, who makes the glasses. Pablo buys the plastic frames by the thousands and she tapes each one by hand, to be distributed wherever the Fighting Nerds tour lands next. People all over the MMA landscape can be spotted wearing them. Daniel Cormier. Jon Jones. Joe Rogan. Mark Zuckerberg. Whoever the Fighting Nerds come into contact with, it's an easy souvenir to pass along. And an easy thing to embrace. The soft-spoken Mauricio Ruffy might be the coolest of the bunch to wear them. It's pronounced closer to 'hoofy,' with a faint "r" sometimes detectable after the huffing "h" — and I'm not sure he even responds to Mauricio at all. When I mention that name to Ivan Jatobá, the manager of the Fighting Nerds, it takes him a minute to know who I'm talking about. 'Oh, Hrrooffy?' he says. Ruffy is forever ready to fight. He was ready in Miami during UFC 314 fight week, when he laid out for me a delirious plan to crash the party at the Kaseya Center. He was so apologetic about the ass kicking he dreamed of handing out, that it bordered on comedy. 'This is me not wishing anything bad on Paddy Pimblett or Michael Chandler,' he told me during a mini squall on South Beach through his friend and business partner Yann Oliveira. 'Because I don't wish anything bad on those guys — they're hard workers, and they're great guys. But with all due respect, with my last fight, you all saw what happened with Bobby [King] Green — I really don't feel like I fought. So I'm ready to go if something should happen.' Mauricio Ruffy scored a brutal, highlight-reel knockout of King Green at UFC 313. (Jeff Bottari via Getty Images) Ruffy is a man of God. He goes to church regularly. He doesn't drink or go out to the clubs. He doesn't even curse. If Carlos is the devil on one shoulder, Ruffy is the angel on the other. And he thanks the heavens for the miracles in his life that some might take for granted, such as having children. His wife was told she couldn't have babies, and — as he will tell you, especially when talking about what's in store for him — 'anything can happen; just look, I have two healthy, beautiful kids.' And he believes it when he says, 'anything can happen.' One of the things that Ruffy makes happen is he evaporates whoever steps in to fight him. Green was supposed to be a kind of litmus test to see where Ruffy stood next to his fellow Nerds. He lasted exactly two minutes. Ruffy landed a spinning wheel kick that dropped the jaws of everyone in Las Vegas. Now he is angling for a bigger fight, yet in the meantime he is looking to be the first Nerd to truly branch out. He is on the verge of opening a Fighting Nerds gym in Brentwood, New Hampshire, with his business partner Yann Oliveira. A satellite to the Sao Paulo headquarters. A place for Nerds to gather in the Northern Hemisphere. 'I see us as a brotherhood,' he says. 'I'm very happy for all of us, and what we're doing. Ultimately everybody is following their own path, following their own dream. I'm very happy to have the relationship we do, that brotherhood feeling. At the end of the day, I'm very happy for the team as a collection. You look at a guy like Jean, or Carlos Prates, Caio Borralho, they all have their own thing going. We're all very different people.' Ruffy is a calming influence on the more volatile Nerds. And of all of them, he might be the scariest once he steps in the cage. 'I try to guide them the right way when I'm around them, but I have a lot of respect for my brothers,' he says. 'I'm my own person, though. I don't necessarily get involved in the Carlos Prates type of thing. He goes out and stuff, but I am so happy being me.' Like the others, Ruffy was bullied as a kid, too. The glasses allow him to look back as much as they do forward. (, Zuffa LLC. Design: Henry Russell, Yahoo Sports.) That's the common thread. The Nerds were bullied, and they've endured. Carlos was bullied. Same thing for Ruffy, who has seen some stuff too. At just eight years old he helped save his father's life after a motorcycle accident. Silva, who was on a road to delinquency until fighting steered him right, was a 'chubby kid' weighing north of 200 pounds when he was young. At one point he was in a coma after an accident, and says he spent nearly a year in a wheelchair. He got bullied, too. And Caio, who fits the bill of a quintessential nerd both in looks and in scholastic interests? He was bullied too often to forget. He hasn't. None of them have. Ask them and they'll tell you, that's why the Fighting Nerds are going strong in 2025. They are part anti-bully movement, part hope collective for anyone who knows about being bullied. The glasses, which are suddenly associated to winning, are an inspiration gimmick. And the players themselves are happily entwined in the messaging. Sucupira, a marketing man in a previous life, the architect. Caio, who might just have a pocket protector somewhere in his wardrobe back in Sao Paulo, the prototype. Ruffy, Jean, Carlos — they are the bespectacled brigade who might be the most violent group of avengers ever assembled. And definitely one the best stories in MMA. They are the Fighting Nerds. And right now they're the ones getting the last word.
Forbes
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Javier Milei And The Risks Of Being A Donald Trump Copycat
Donald Trump's return to the White House seems to have pushed the world off its axis, even though it was a clearly plausible scenario ahead of the presidential election in the United States. Both inside the North American superpower and across the wider world, there's a feeling that every single one of Trump's orders and threats will have long-lasting effects that could derail the current world order, which in most cases means the consequences are perceived as negative. Among those who ideologically identify themselves as close to the 'new right,' Trump's victory elicits a feeling of euphoria as the 'culture wars' v 'wokeism' battle returns to the center of the political debate. Javier Milei is among those who are ecstatic with the current course of global affairs. As Argentina's President, he can congratulate himself on the early endorsement of his colleague when his chances of electoral victory weren't as certain. His 'automatic alignment' with Washington's new policies allows the self-described 'anarcho-capitalist' libertarian to show that his chemistry with Trump, billionaire Elon Musk, Italian premier Giorgia Meloni and the rest of the gang is more important than underlying ideology, particularly on the economic front. For now, the benefits appear greater than the drawbacks, particularly if Trump 2.0 acts like Trump 1.0 in pushing the International Monetary Fund to offer Argentina favorable terms in ongoing negotiations over a fresh financing program. Yet, there could be consequences for those importing US cultural battles to Argentina. Indeed, the response to Milei's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he ripped a page from Trump's playbook and doubled down on anti-wokeism, rather than keeping to his usual economics-focused agenda, generated a level of rejection that forced him to tone it down and explain himself. Much like during last year's marches in defence of public education and state universities, the President felt the blow but he will probably recover momentum quickly. Much like the Looney Tunes' Tasmanian Devil, the Trump whirlwind seems to be destroying everything in its path. The early days of his second presidency seemed marked by a nervous necessity to get as much done as quickly as possible. He counts on his previous experience of four years in office and the capacity to build a team that should be much more efficient. Trump also enjoys majorities in both chambers of Congress and a favorable Supreme Court. POTUS has fully impacted on the prevailing world order by starting major trade wars with allies and enemies alike, beginning major deportations of mainly Latin American immigrants and proposed the reversal of several major issues that had become global policy agreements, including the Paris Climate Accord and even the relevance of the World Health Organization. Regarding the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and the Arab world, Trump went so far as to say the United States would actively take control of the area, relocate Palestinians to 'beautiful communities' abroad, and develop the real estate in Gaza to make it the 'Riviera of the Middle East.' It's difficult to determine when Trump is actually laying out a policy goal or just using his public statements as bargaining chips in his negotiations. What does seem clearer is that through his actions he's pushing 'economic autarchy' and the 'destruction of the Western Alliance,' as Financial Times journalist Gideon Rachman explained. His colleague, Martin Wolff, adds that not only is the trade war economically stupid, but it also generates unpredictability for the global superpower that weakens its position as a key ally, forcing other countries to look elsewhere for future pacts and agreements. For Milei, there's nothing but joy from what Trump's doing. It doesn't seem to bother the anarcho-capitalist economist that the Republican's protectionist and anti-globalist stance is theoretically antagonistic with his vision of a libertarian wonderland. From a political standpoint, Milei and Trump are brothers-in-arms, meaning the Argentine can only benefit from the culture wars being waged by his buddy up North. By aligning himself with Trump's agenda, Milei is looking to increase his own impact, both domestically and abroad. While Argentina's President has always opposed 'cultural Marxism,' he's now fully absorbed the Trumpian version of anti-wokeism. One of the risks of importing the United States' cultural agenda to Argentina is that he can alienate electorates that could have supported him in the upcoming midterm elections. Much like when he spoke about selling children or opening the market for selling organs, Milei sparked the ire of his critics, in this case the LGBT+ community, which in turn allowed a larger group opposed to him to bundle together and express their discontent in the streets. A similar situation occurred when the masses mobilized in favor of public education. In both cases Milei was forced to backtrack and try to explain why he had been misinterpreted by the media that were looking to hurt him politically. As his communications team, led by Santiago Caputo, knows quite well, it doesn't really matter what you meant to say, only what your audience received as the message. Milei has also ordered his Health Minister, Mario Lugones, to explain why he wishes to pull out of the World Health Organization, while indicating that he is considering pulling Argentina from the Paris Climate Agreement. In both cases he's imitating the Trump administration, and potentially moving before they do, even before it can be seen whether he's bluffing or not. One possible explanation, beyond political proximity, has to do with practical reasons. The International Monetary Fund, which is ultimately controlled by the White House, is currently Argentina's largest creditor. As revealed by The Donald's top official for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the Trump administration pushed the IMF to hand over a record bailout to Mauricio Macri in 2018 in part to try to prevent the return of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to power. Claver-Carone, who has been named special envoy to the region, was at the time Washington's appointee to the IMF. Now, Milei and Economy Minister Luis 'Toto' Caputo — who was involved in orchestrating the original loan during the Macri administration — are looking to Washington to help them secure fresh funds while cutting them some slack on lifting currency controls (i.e. 'cepo') during an electoral year. Milei's popularity is in great part tied to the economy continuing on a path toward normalization, which means lower inflation and potentially a rebound. A sudden surge in inflation would therefore be destructive, meaning that they must defend their 'strong peso' policy at all costs. The IMF has its doubts. Pegging Argentina's foreign policy to the United States is a risky strategy. Beyond the anti-woke agenda, Washington's leading geopolitical adversary is China, which is one of Argentina's most important trading partners. There's also the risk of 'importing' cultural battles that create further divisiveness. But the benefit of an extra push at the IMF board meeting, together with the political affinity between Milei and Trump, appear irresistible. For now, being a copy-cat seems like the best plan. This piece was originally published in the Buenos Aires Times, Argentina's only English-language newspaper.
