Jean Silva’s rise of the UFC’s 145-pound ranks hit its first real stumbling block on Saturday night.
The Brazilian, winner of 12-straight fights heading into the latest UFC Noche main event, was defeated by second-round TKO by former title challenger Lopes, who took advantage of Silva’s trademark aggressive style to land a spinning elbow shot which sent Silva to the canvas, with the fight being called moments later as Lopes unleashed a barrage of follow-up shots on the ground.
The defeat adds to the woes of the so-called ‘Fighting Nerds’ team, which has also seen fellow members Carlos Prates, Mauricio Ruffy and Caio Borralho suffer defeats in recent outings.
And in a statement posted to social media and translated by Championship Rounds, Silva said that his loss can be explained by a loss of composure in the second frame as he began to see success on the feet after a tough first round in which he was nearly finished on the ground.
“Unfortunately, yesterday the emotion got the better of me,” he said. “I was seeing well in the second round, but I ended up rushing in with everything just wanting to throw down.”
“I ended up fighting alone, I wasn’t connected with my team,” Silva added. “So the responsibility is all mine for this loss.
“One thing you guys were right about: The Fighting Nerds lost three in a row. So the three of us must be making similar mistakes. So for sure, me, Caio, and Ruffy will have a meeting. We’ll figure this out and improve. Whether people like it or not, I’m sorry, but we’ll be back.”
