Heavy-handed Ultimate Fighting Championship 185er Bruno Silva
believes the worst is behind him now.
Due to his strong mind, tough chin and aggressive style, Silva
earned the nickname of “Blindado,” or “armored,” by his teammates
many years ago. In the sport of MMA, there are limits to how far
one’s toughness can go, and even the stoutest competitor can reach
a breaking point. Brazil’s Silva, who raced through a torrid
schedule with the promotion with five appearances in less than 14
months, started to slow down. After his most recent outing, a
deflating submission loss to Gerald
Meerschaert, Silva suffered a serious accident that put him on
the shelf for some time. The subsequent injury may have been a
blessing in disguise for Silva, who spoke to Sherdog on Thursday
about his last performance and the accident.
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“I don’t want to say how was the accident now, but it caused me a
very serious injury that demanded an immediate surgery,” Silva
explained. “It tore all ligaments in my clavicle, and the doctor
[told] me [I would need upwards of six months] to recover. I told
him I would recover in a way that [would be shocking]. And that’s
what I did. Two physiotherapy sessions per day, ice every two
hours. Thank God, I’m 100% recovered and already training with no
restriction.”
When pointing to the self-described “disappointing” way he fought
Meerschaert, Blindado revealed an interesting habit he developed
due in part to his hectic fight schedule.
“I love MMA so much that I accepted five fights in 13 months, but
the fact is that a fighter is not a machine and we have to learn to
respect our mind signs,” the middleweight admitted. “Somehow, I
started to get a very strange feeling whenever I entered the
fighter locker room and smelled [the] Vaseline and hand adhesive
tape. I didn’t know if it was adrenaline, anger, panic, fear or
everything together. [To counter that feeling,] I immediately
started to use Vaseline and hand [wraps during] my daily training
routine and, somehow, that anxiety was over.”
Many fighters freely admit that combat sports are not just physical
but mental as well, and that a competitor can easily get in his or
her own head to offer roadblocks. In an effort to alleviate his
concerns, like countryman Gilbert
Burns, Silva sought out a sports psychologist.
“Today, I have two psychologists working with me,” Silva shared. “I
have one guy working professionally with me since 2017 and, after
my loss to Meerschaert, I hired another professional to work with
my personal anxiety. Actually, treating the family man Bruno, the
father, husband, friend, son, not ‘Blindado.’ The fact is that when
Bruno is fine, not anxious, ‘Blindado’ naturally takes off.”
Feeling fully recovered from the accident and with his anxiety
issues under control, Silva eagerly anticipates receiving a call
from the UFC.
“I told them that March would be perfect for me, but April will be
fine too. The most important [thing] is that I’m fully recovered
and already training hard to bring my best version next year.”
Before getting tapped by Meerschaert, “Blindado” encountered future
champion Alex
Pereira. He remains the lone competitor to go the distance with
Pereira inside of a cage, although he did lose the decision in
March. After the fight, Silva watched Pereira’s meteoric rise, and
he gives his fellow countryman all the credit in the world.
“With all respect to [Alex] Volkanovski and [Islam] Makhachev, what
‘Poatan’ did this year was much more impressive. He was the No. 1
[fighter] in 2022,” Silva said.
After their fight, Silva and Pereira developed a slight kinship.
When Silva suffered his submission defeat to Meerschaert, Pereira
was among those that reached out in support.
“[Pereira] faced my best version and he recognized that something
happened to me. I told him that I committed the worst mistake a
fighter can do, unlike I did with him: I underestimated Gerald and
paid for that. No excuses, all merits to Gerald, but it was a hell
of a lesson that will help me to bring my best version in 2023,”
Silva concluded.