Noche UFC’s Jean Silva wears his emotions on his sleeves.
The fiery and sometimes tearful Brazilian has quickly made waves inside the Octagon, scoring five straight finish victories over an increasingly quality class of competition to announce himself as a Featherweight title threat. Along the way, he’s become known for his unique personality, equal parts bark and bite. Silva wisely picked a beef with Bryce Mitchell at the height of the “Thug Nasty” infamy, parlaying that beef into a sensational finish that skyrocketed
him up the rankings (watch here).
A beef that isn’t over apparently. Despite Mitchell’s retreat to the Bantamweight division, Silva recently led the crowd in a “F—k Bryce Mitchell” chant. While explaining his ongoing beef with Mitchell, Silva somehow shifted focus to Middleweight contender Paulo Costa. Silva doesn’t like the energy of “Borrachinha” either, and he’s not afraid to let a little thing like weight classes get in the way of a brewing beef.
“Sometimes the energy don’t match,” Silva said of Bryce Mitchell through a translator. “Different people, different nature, different character. It’s how it’s been my whole life. If I don’t like you, I just straight up tell it to your face. Like [UFC Middleweight ’Borrachinha’ Paulo Costa], I just don’t like him very much. He’s huge, a different weight class, I’m never going to fight him. But in the streets, all bets are off.”
Silva concluded with one by instructing the crowd with a final “F—k Paulo Costa” chant.
Reminder: Jean Silva fights at 145-pounds, sometimes Lightweight. Paulo Costa has had difficulty making the 185-pound Middleweight limit and is well-known to start his weight cuts over 200-pounds. If these two men were to meet outside the Octagon, I’m not sure Silva’s incredible chin and power would be of much use against the hulking Brazilian.
At Noche UFC, Jean Silva will meet a man his own size in Diego Lopes, the recent Featherweight title challenger and another man with whom Silva has beef. It’s a high-stakes clash, one that could result in the next 145-pound No. 1 contender if there’s a dramatic conclusion.
