Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Recent years have seen the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight division grow to rival the Lightweights in depth, and UFC on ESPN 4 event this Saturday (July 20, 2019) inside AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, adds yet more to the pile. On this edition of “New Blood,” the series where I have to search YouTube in way too many languages to find the footage I need, we check out a pair of rising Bantamweights: Erick Silva’s brother Gabriel Silva and 6’ “Contender Series” standout Domingo Pilarte.
Gabriel “Gabito” Silva
Weight Class: Bantamweight
Age: 24
Record: 8-0 (3 KO, 1 SUB)
Significant Victories: Kamil Lebkowski, Jake Heffernan
Silva — the younger brother of veteran Erick Silva — actually debuted in 2011 at the age of 17, but has yet to fight more than once in a calendar year. That’s not to say he hasn’t impressed, though; indeed, two years after a 2017 decision over Kamil Lebkowski in the latter’s native Poland, “Gabito” took just 83 seconds to wipe out Jake Heffernan in March.
He has spent his last two fights at Featherweight, but returns to 135 pounds this weekend.
There honestly aren’t that many visual similarities between Gabriel and Erick outside of sheer aggression. Where Erick is all about throwing a grab-bag of off-the-cuff strikes, Gabriel is a heavy-handed bruiser, marching forward with heavy, jab-free swings. He can switch-hit, but he uses the same general strategy in either stance: lead with his power hand, follow with as many hooks as needed.
He’s a similar physical force with his wrestling, ducking in for high-amplitude slams when the mood arises. I haven’t seen him do terribly much from the top, but he can dish out damage with his ground-and-pound and looks to have decent control.
As I’ve said in my other previews for this card, Gabriel’s cardio is definitely better than Erick’s. I’m still not sure it’s good enough, though. Lebkowski made him work in the first two rounds, and Silva was reduced to desperate takedowns and inactive top control in the third. His lack of striking set ups and tendency to put everything into every punch makes for an inefficient style, but without a jab or other basic striking tenets, I’m not sure how effective he can be if he paces himself.
Silva’s young, strong, aggressive and well-rounded. He just needs 15 minutes of cardio if he doesn’t want to follow in his brother’s ignominious footsteps.
Opponent: Ray Borg will be the smaller man on fight night, but an excellent gas tank and exhausting, grappling-heavy style makes him a sink-or-swim test for Silva’s cardio. It’s also extremely appealing from an entertainment standpoint.
Tape:
Domingo “Son of Fire” Pilarte
Weight Class: Bantamweight
Age: 29
Record: 8-1 (2 KO, 4 SUB)
Significant Victories: Adrian Yanez, Vince Morales
Houston’s Pilarte, training under UFC veteran Daniel Pineda and Brazilian jiu-jitsu great Jorge “Macaco” Patino, has won five straight since his sole professional defeat in 2014. After edging Adrian Yanez under the LFA banner, Pilarte took on Vince Morales on Season Two of “Contender Series,” surviving a first-round knockdown to choke out the favored “Vandetta” early in the second. He was set to make his Octagon debut against Brian Kelleher in Nov. 2018, but was forced to withdraw because of injury.
At 6’0,” Pilarte is the tallest Bantamweight on UFC’s roster, edging a sextet of 5’11” competitors that includes Sean O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen. Despite his prodigious size, he’s all about aggression, pushing forward behind his heavy straight left. He’ll plant his feet and throw back rather than retreat in the face of fire, and if he’s got his man hurt, he’s willing to compromise his height and slug it out inside. He’s got a solid uppercut in close, and beyond the left hand, prefers hitting the head/body with his rear leg and the thigh with his lead leg.
I was pleasantly surprised by his wrestling prowess — I’m used to people with Pilarte’s build doing all of their takedown work in the clinch, but “Son of Fire” has a solid shot. He’s technical enough to hit takedowns even when he’s tired and does an excellent job of quickly transitioning to the back once it hits the ground. He’s no slouch off of his back, either, demonstrating a quality armbar that he admittedly might want to vary up a bit.
And now, the biggest and reddest of big red flags: his striking defense is atrocious. He keeps his right hand at his waist, dips his head to his left with clockwork regularity, and leaves his chin up. Overhand rights are the traditional panacea against tall dudes and Pilarte’s striking style is practically begging for one, especially since he’ll step into his opponent’s range when trying to unload. His chin won’t hold up forever, and while he has some decent pop, he’s not a hard enough puncher to compensate for defensive lapses with overwhelming firepower.
He also punched himself out in his loss to Caio Machado, though that was a while back and he didn’t seem like he was slowing down after a wild round with Morales.
Pilarte’s entertaining and is likely to be on one end or another of a post-fight bonus whenever he fights, but he’ll peak around the middle of the division unless he drastically overhauls his defense.
Opponent: Felipe Colares didn’t have much to offer in his Octagon debut and figures to be something of a showcase foe for Pilarte, not dangerous enough to exploit “Son of Fire’s” myriad technical lapses. Pilarte gets off on the right foot.
Tape:
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC on ESPN 4 fight card this weekend, starting with the ESPN “Prelims” that are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the main card portion that will also air on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC on ESPN 4: “dos Anjos vs. Edwards” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.