Erick Silva is one of the UFC’s brightest and youngest stars.
He’s young, powerful, fast, athletic, good looking, and he’s just an all-around great fighter. And in Brazil, his home country, he’s being hailed as a future champion in the UFC welterweight division – this despite the fact he only has one win in three career UFC fights in Brazil.
Considering all the hype behind him, and considering the success his countrymen have had while fighting in front of their fans (Brazilian fighters have been winning fights over foreigners at a ridiculously-high clip since the promotion returned to the South American country in 2011), you may be surprised at Silva’s 1-2 record in the UFC while fighting in Brazil. But it’s true. In three fights in his home country, Silva’s only win was a 40-second KO in his UFC debut at UFC 134, over little-known Luis Ramos, who’s not even a UFC fighter anymore. Since then, Silva is on a two-fight losing streak while fighting in the country that is supposed to give him – not his opponent — a gigantic home-field advantage.
At UFC 142, Silva looked as though he had defeated Carlo Prater via TKO, but referee Mario Yamasaki ruled that Silva knocked out Prater with illegal punches to the back of the head, and Silva lost by DQ. But of course that loss comes with an asterisk of sorts, as many believe it was a bad call by the referee.
I’ve watched this fight about 50 times, and to this day, I still don’t know if the right call was made by Yamasaki. On one hand, it appeared as though the fight should have been stopped before the illegal shots occurred. On the other hand, though, there were a few punches that definitely hit Prater in illegal areas. But it doesn’t matter; in the record books it’s a loss, and even if the UFC ignores it, the Sherdog Fight Finder and the athletic commissions never will.
Since the UFC didn’t count the Prater loss, they matched up Silva with Charlie Brenneman at UFC on FX 3, even though Brenneman was coming off a win over Daniel Roberts. Silva made quick work of Brenneman, as he tapped him out with a rear-naked choke, and the UFC decided to fast track him to a title shot by matching him up with perennial contender Jon Fitch at UFC 153.
Silva entered the Fitch fight as the favorite, as many believed that Fitch was on the downside of his career coming off a 12-second loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 141, while Silva was on the rise. But Fitch proved to be too much for Silva, as he used his grinding wrestling style to neutralize Silva, and win a unanimous decision.
The loss was definitely a setback for the UFC, who were counting on Silva to make a name for himself with a win over Fitch, but it was an even bigger setback for Silva, who, with a win over Fitch, would have jumped into the top five of the weight class.
Instead of fighting guys like Demian Maia and Carlos Condit, which he would have been had he defeated Fitch, Silva was matched up with Jay Hieron at UFC 156, but he was injured in training camp and removed from the bout. Silva was then booked for a fight against John Hathaway, but due to an injury to Hathaway, he’ll instead face Jason High at UFC on FUEL TV 10 this weekend in Fortaleza, Brazil.
This is a gigantic fight for Silva because he needs a win to prove he’s still got what it takes to contend for the title. However, it’s even bigger because it’s a fight that will allow him to redeem himself, and snap his nasty two-fight losing streak in front of those who love him the most, his fans in Brazil.
Although High is a game competitor, I expect Silva to be way too explosive for him and win the fight in exciting fashion in the first round. And if he does just that – and provided it’s not via illegal methods – then the redemption of Erick Silva will be complete. And that’s something that Silva – as well as the UFC – is counting on.
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UFC on FUEL TV 10: Nogueira vs. Werdum is due to take place on June 8, 2013 at Ginásio Paulo Sarasate in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil.
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