The Brazilian veteran believes that fighting without fear cost him earlier on in his career.
Once touted as one of the hottest prospects in MMA, things haven’t quite gone to plan for Erick Silva, who competes for the 32nd time this Saturday. Now plying his trade inside the Bellator cage, the Brazilian will be looking to roll back the clock to show the raw talent that he possesses at the SSE Arena, Wembley as the promotion returns to London, England for arguably their biggest ever show on these shores. There will be many eyeballs watching as his welterweight clash against UK favourite, Paul Daley, will be shown during primetime in the UK on Sky Sports from 9pm – 10pm BST. It’s a fight that all but guarantees fireworks as out of their 60 combined professional victories, 49 have come by way of stoppage.
Following a 15 fight stint in the UFC, Silva (20-10 1NC) fought outside of the promotion for the first time in seven years last July when he picked up a first round submission victory in LFA. This win prompted Bellator to give him a call only two months later to sign a deal with the promotion which would add to their slate of established names, bringing more name value to their shows. However, he was unsuccessful in his Bellator debut as he dropped a unanimous decision to the undefeated Yaroslav Amosov back in February. Despite having a bright start where he had some success on the feet, Silva was dominated in the grappling department as the fight wore on and couldn’t mount any offense from his back. This was yet another setback for the 34-year-old but he was thankful that it made him aware of certain areas where he knows he must improve.
“My fight with Amosov was very hard,” said Silva. “One positive though is that it made me see flaws in my game which I have tried my best to fix so that I can still progress within this division. My desire remains to be among the best competitors so I will continue to correct myself and evolve my game.”
Even though he had many setbacks during his UFC tenure, some fans always believed that Silva still had the potential to make it over the hump and stamp himself as an elite welterweight contender. However, many will argue that he never lived up to expectations in terms of how hyped he was earlier in his career while others will say that he was just a beneficiary of being a younger, Brazilian talent when the UFC were making a significant push into the South American market. With the number of shows and mixed martial artists coming out of Brazil now, if that same Erick Silva back in 2011 made his UFC debut now, would he still be viewed as a standout talent or would he fade into the background along with the majority of other fighters currently competing from that continent? No matter what people’s perspectives might be, the black belt in judo and jiu-jitsu doesn’t like to think too much about his previous bouts as he would rather focus on the athlete that he is today.
“Those are different times (when I was a big prospect who couldn’t maintain consistency),” explained Silva. “The current Erick and the Erick from the beginning of my career are totally different fighters. Today, I have a better perception of myself and I see some of the flaws that the old me had before. Old Erick was a more explosive athlete who stepped in there without fear and that failure cost me which led to defeats. On the other hand, today’s Erick is a more experienced athlete who can come up with a strategy for the fight that can lead to victory.”
He will need to call on all of that experience and discipline to stick to a gameplan on Saturday night when he stands across from British slugger, Paul Daley. A legend of the UK MMA scene, ‘Semtex’ will make the walk for the staggering 60th time on Saturday night in a career that stems all the way back to 2003. He is coming off of back-to-back decision losses, the last of which came at the hands of his bitter rival, Michael ‘Venom’ Page, in the welterweight grand prix quarterfinals. Both fighters are at a similar stage in their careers where they will want to pick up a big, highlight reel win to prove that their best days are not behind them. Silva is aware of the opportunity being presented to himself by taking on one of the biggest names in Bellator’s welterweight division and is looking to grab it with both hands.
“I’m very confident going into this fight,” stated Silva. “I know I’m going against a very experienced opponent but I trust my game and my coaches’ plans. I’ve trained a lot for this war and know everything I’ve done in this camp has prepared me for what is to come. I am sure that I’m ready.”
During his career, Silva has competed in Brazil, America and Canada but Saturday night will be the first time that he has traveled overseas to Europe to compete in MMA. There have been many instances in the past where foreign fighters have struggled to get adjusted to the time zone which has then impacted upon their performance. However, Silva doesn’t envisage this being the case and is looking forward to getting a taste of the UK and the great sporting atmosphere fans are capable of creating.
“I haven’t had a chance to visit the UK yet so I am very happy to be able to see another country,” discussed Silva. “Fighting has provided me with the platform to travel to many incredible places and I am excited to learn a bit more about the history which this beautiful country has. I have always heard great things about England and the rest of the UK. With that being said, no matter where I am around the world, I’m always focused on battle. I am heading into London with so much determination to achieve the victory so all of my fans see that I am back!”
“Every fighter has a goal that they are focused on and mine is to be among the best in the division still,” said Silva. “However, I am fully aware that currently I need to take things one step at a time. The next step is this fight against Paul Daley and after I get the win over him, I will be able to plan my new goals.”
Bellator London takes place on June 22nd and will be shown on Channel 5 and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, while US viewers can see the event through a combination of the Bellator app and Paramount Network/DAZN.