Count the most recent opponent of Alex
Pereira among those that believe the ex-kickboxer will smash
his way through the rest of the division.
At UFC Fight Night 203 in March, Pereira (5-1) and “Blindado”
Bruno
Silva (22-7) threw down for three hard-fought rounds to open up
the main card. Pereira ultimately had his hand raised after the
judges handed down matching 30-27 scores in his favor. Silva did
have his moments in the fight, landing a pair of takedowns and
getting off some heavy shots of his own, but he could not so much
as win a round. Silva’s loss snapped a three-fight knockout win
streak for him, but he very nearly had an opportunity for a
high-stakes, short-notice opportunity because of his performance.
“Blindado” spoke to Sherdog on Wednesday about his last fight and
how he sees Pereira going forward.
“Some fights you enter to win, and others, to make history,” Silva
noted. “I promised a great fight and delivered. I was not able to
turn ‘Poatan’ off, but he wasn’t [able to knock me out either].
Unfortunately, this loss didn’t put me in the top 15, but the
biggest proof the UFC liked [the fight] is that they called me last
week to face Andre
Muniz.”
Due to his two-month medical suspension after 15 minutes of action
with Pereira, Silva was unable to accept the fight. He still wanted
it even if he couldn’t take it.
“I don’t like to say no to [the] UFC, but I was coming from four
fights in nine months, and after three rounds against ‘Poatan,’ I
can return [to compete] after May 12,” the Brazilian explained.
Silva recognized greatness in his opponent, even with just six MMA
fights under the belt of “Poatan.” When asked for his thoughts
about Pereira’s next fight against Sean
Strickland in July, Silva had no doubt that his former opponent
would get his hand raised.
“I don’t see Strickland very dangerous in any area,” Silva
admitted. “He is able to take down, to exchange punches and
grapple, but he is not precise and lethal in any area. The only
thing he does really well is ask the opponents to beat his face. If
he asked me to do that, I would either enter his soul or take his
head off and I’m sure ‘Poatan’ will do the same. I don’t see
Strickland winning. The only way he could win against ‘Poatan’ is
holding the fight and getting him tired.”
Coming off a loss, “Blindado” is totally realistic about his
options moving forward. He does not expect a ranked opponent, but
he would very much like one if the promotion saw to match him up
accordingly.
“When you lose a fight you need to shut up, not choose fights,”
Silva stated. “But after three knockouts and two bonuses in four
fights, I really hope [the] UFC is taking good care of me. If I
could choose a ranked guy in the sequence, it would be Brad
Tavares, Edmen
Shahbazyan or Kelvin
Gastelum.”