In the aftermath of his first UFC loss, which also came in his first UFC main event, a key member of Brazil’s Fighting Nerds team says the crew will bounce back.
The Fighting Nerds have been MMA’s haute couture team for a hot minute, led by Caio Borralho, Carlos Prates, Silva and Mauricio Ruffy, they swarmed to nearly unprecedented early success, and their playful nature has endeared them to fans, as well.
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But last week in Paris, Borralho lost the main event to Nassourdine Imavov, and Ruffy was upset in the co-main event by Benoit Saint Denis. Saturday at UFC Fight Night 259 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, Silva (16-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) appeared to be on the verge of a fight-ending shot at any moment when he was caught by a Diego Lopes (27-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) spinning back elbow late in the second round. Moments later, he had done – and not happy.
There was bad blood between him and Lopes in the buildup to the fight, and that poured over into the immediate moments after the fight was stopped when Lopes flipped double birds toward Silva’s team. Silva even had to be held back after the knockout.
Sunday, he posted on social media to show some of the cuts on his head and face, as well as some fresh stitches. He also said he, Borralho and Ruffy would correct the issues that led to their losses.
“Unfortunately, (Saturday), emotions were high,” Silva said in Portuguese. ‘I was doing good in the second round, but I went all out. The fighting desire took over. I fought on my own and didn’t listen to my team. This loss is on me. It is what it is: Only 13 seconds left (when I got finished). We’re three Fighting Nerds in a row who lost, so we’re making the same mistakes. Me, Caio and Ruffy will fix this. Like it or not, we’ll be back.”
Despite the loss, Silva got an extra $50,000 for Fight of the Night. But Lopes double-dipped with that, plus a performance bonus, too.
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Noche UFC: Jean Silva reacts to main event KO loss to Diego Lopes