One of the main highlights of UFC
on ESPN 59 in Denver was Jean Silva
moving up a weight class to score his third knockout in six months
against Drew Dober, a
victory that came just two weeks after “Lord” finished Charles
Jourdain at UFC
303.
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In an interview with Ag.Fight shortly after the bout, Jean revealed that
the
UFC had already nominated a veteran in the Top 15 to be his
next opponent.
“Unfortunately, I still can’t say anything, just that it will be at
featherweight,” said the Fighting Nerds member.
Silva also promised that if the UFC needs him to step up again in
the coming weeks, he will be available. His lone condition would be
that the short-notice fight would take place at 155 pounds.
“My plan this year is to have three more fights at featherweight,
but if the UFC asks me, exceptionally, to face a striker at
lightweight, that could be a possibility,” Silva said. “But my
focus is on my division.”
In a separate interview with Brazilian journalist Laerte
Viana, Silva spoke again about the enemy he so much wanted to face
and explained the reason for his dislike.
“I admire a lot of guys in the UFC like Dober and many others who
are great family men and always deliver great fights,” he said. “I
was a fan of this guy, but one time I asked to take a photo with
him and he let me wait for an hour. I thought he was cool, but he’s
actually an asshole. I’m almost certain that one of my functions in
this sport is to take charges. He will take a beating and learn to
be humble. When I hit this guy and see his head split open, I’m not
going to tell the referee.”
In an interview on Renato
Carneiro’s podcast before the fight in Denver, “Lord” gave two
tips to those curious about who his opponent could be.
“I want to fight two guys in the division. Dan Ige and
Diego
Lopes,” he said. “I saw Diego Lopes fight, and definitely I´m
not a good fight for him. My striking level is much better than
his. He has an absurd ground level, so competing against his
jiu-jitsu wouldn’t work very well today. I’m not going to be a
hypocrite. But the moment he gets in front of me…”