Jean Silva surprises by revealing that he followed Ilia Topuria's teachings to reach the top of the UFC

Jean Silva e Ilia Topuria are undefeated in the UFC. Photo: SUPER FIGHTS Montage

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Jean Silva may have his chance to fight for the belt in less than two years of his contract with the UFC. That's because the Fighting Nerds representative is scheduled to share the octagon with Diego lopes and if you have your arm raised in the UFC Night, will assume the position of number one challenger. Although the merit of the feat goes entirely to the Santa Catarina native, he claims that he had a great 'teacher' in the process.

In an interview with the channel 'EldoberdanMMA', Jean Silva explained that his speed to reach the top comes not only from his skills in the octagon, but also from his ability to learn from those who have already walked that path. In this sense, 'Lord' sees the success of Ilia Topuria as a reference and states that he observes the successes and, mainly, the mistakes of other athletes to avoid the same mistakes.

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“Not because I’m better than Topuria, but because he showed me the way. I like to watch people who do things well. I can take what they didn’t do and what they did wrong, and do it differently. So, if Topuria took four years to get the belt, if I only take away what he did wrong, I can reduce that time. I’m left with only the right things,” he said. Jean Silva.

Confident that he will reach the belt, Jean Silva remember that he not only followed in the footsteps of Ilia Topuria, but also improved them. While the current featherweight champion needed four years to win the title, the Brazilian believes he will achieve the same feat in just two.

“It took Topuria four years to get the belt. I'll be in the UFC for a year and a half. In two years, I'll own the belt. I'm going into my sixth fight, the next one for the belt. So, what Topuria did in four years, I'll do in two,” he said. Jean Silva.

Jean Silva studies Diego Lopes' patterns ahead of UFC Noche

Diego lopes (left) and Jean Silva (right) face each other in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Montage SUPER FIGHTS

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Before thinking about a belt, Jean Silva needs to overcome Diego lopes in the main fight of UFC Night, scheduled for September 13. For this, the representative of Fighting Nerds is betting on a detailed study of the opponent.

In his analysis, Jean states that Diego lopes He is a reactive and explosive fighter, with strong counter-attacking power. However, he highlights that, in the first minutes of combat, his rival tends to retreat, a behavior that, according to the Brazilian, can be exploited to his advantage.

“He’s a very reactive guy on his feet, he’s a guy who, at the beginning of a fight, has no problem moving backwards. You can see that he always ducks a little when guys throw blows at him, to respond. And he has some bad habits. I won’t even talk about the scratching of the throat, which is a childhood thing… But you can see that he always adjusts his shorts, similar to Poirier.”, he said. Jean Silva on the 'MMA Brazil' Podcast.

UFC analyst sees Jean Silva as favorite against Diego Lopes

The anticipation surrounding the fight is so great that some believe the winner will be the next to fight for the featherweight belt (up to 65,7 kg). With the strong hype at stake, everyone wants to say who will have their arm raised. Among those who have already taken a position on the fight is former fighter and current UFC analyst, Vitor miranda.

Participating in the Connect Cast podcast, Vitor miranda highlighted the technical superiority of Jean Silva, stating that the Brazilian has all the weapons to deal with the initial pressure from Lopes, who, according to him, bets on a chaotic and offensive style in the first rounds.

“Diego is just a forward march, he only has one or two dangerous hands and the chaos of jiu-jitsu. He goes too forward at the beginning, and Jean has everything to deal with that until he gets tired,” he said.  Vitor miranda.

Jean Silva and Diego Lopes are living different moments in the UFC

Signed through the Contender Series, Jean Silva comes from five consecutive victories, within the UFC, four by knockout and one submission. His most recent performance, against Bryce mitchell, ended with a knockout in the second round, a result that officially placed him in the featherweight division rankings.

Yes, Diego lopes debuted in the UFC by accepting a last minute fight against Movsar Evloev, in which he was defeated. After that, he went on a five-match winning streak until he got his chance at the title. However, in UFC 314, ended up being surpassed by Alexander Volkanovsky, keeping the dream of the belt on hold.

UFC Noche celebrates Mexican independence

The fight between Jean Silva e Diego lopes will be the main fight of another edition of UFC Night, an event created by Ultimate to honor Mexico's Independence Day, celebrated on September 16th.

The latest editions of UFC Night marked important moments in the octagon. In 2023, Alexa grasso kept the flyweight belt (up to 56,7 kg) after drawing with Valentina Shevchenko. In 2024, the big highlight was the victory of Merab Dvalishvili about Sean O'Malley, at an event held at The Sphere, in Las Vegas.