Middleweight Bruno Silva wanted to show more of his skills in his fight against Wellington Turman at UFC Vegas 29.
Former M-1 Global champion Bruno Silva caused quite the impression in his UFC debut, but he is still not satisfied. Following a vicious ground-and-pound KO victory over fellow Brazilian Wellington Turman at UFC Vegas 29, ‘Blindado’ says he wanted to show more of his skills before finishing the contest in the first round’s closing seconds.
In an interview with Combate, Silva pointed out how he was only able to show a small fraction of his skillset in his Octagon debut. Now that he has a sucessful debut in the world’s biggest promotion, Blindado does not intend to stop until he becomes the new middleweight champion.
“I wanted to have done a bit more. I wanted to finish the fight because I was coming off a big layoff and I want to do so much more. I didn’t do 90% of what I’m capable. You’ll see still me many times here.”
“I came here as a champion, I was born to be a champion.” Silva continued. “I don’t work to be number 2. My division is one of the toughest ones in the UFC, but I picture myself fighting them all. I want to have great fights. I’m from the new generation, but I fight like the old one.”
Away from fighting since November 2018 due to testing positive for banned steroid Boldenone, Silva was expected to have his UFC debut in 2019, but now is now eager to make up for the time lost. Although Blindado admits that finding motivation during such a long suspension might be difficult, Bruno was happy to see he did not show much rust against Turman.
“Good thing I finished him quickly. I was worried about my rhythm the most. I’m glad I didn’t get hurt and my opponent didn’t suffer any serious injuries, too. We both walked out of it healthy. To motivate yourself for one day is easy. You play a video on YouTube and get motivated. To motivate yourself for two years and not know when you’re coming back is very hard. I’m proud that I overcame that. I came back. I always do.”
Now on a five-fight winning streak, Silva (20-6) had already defeated knocked out his four previous opponents, including former Bellator champion Alexander Shlemenko, back in June 2018. In fact, the 31-year-old’s sole loss in his last 16 fights was a submission defeat to Moise Rimbon, in December 2016.