The relationship between Fighting Nerds stars Jean Silva and Mauricio Ruffy has taken a hit after Ruffy decided to move to Australia for his UFC 325 camp to train alongside Alexander Volkanovski, the man at the top of Silva’s weight class.
Ruffy and Volkanovski came out victorious this past weekend in Sydney, beating Rafael Fiziev and Diego Lopes, respectively. Silva unfollowed his teammate during UFC 325 fight week and he wants distance from Ruffy.
“I don’t think there’s much to explain,” Silva told
Laerte Viana. “It’s Ruffy on one side and me on the other. Internal business, I won’t be the one to expose it. I haven’t said anything. My heart is at peace and I won’t talk. It’s all good. Him there and me here, that’s the truth. All I can say is that I want distance from him and I hope he does, too. If he says he doesn’t, that he loves me, it’s all good. I hope it’s for real. I think he has his path. I’m rooting for his success, he has a beautiful family and I hope he bears good fruits of his work. But I have my goals.”
Ruffy also discussed the situation with Viana, explaining that he hasn’t left the Fighting Nerds team with his move to Australia for a training camp and “loves” Silva. However, Volkanovski was there for Ruffy during a difficult moment in his life as he lost for the first time under the bright lights of the UFC and dealt with the death of his brother.
“I love Jean regardless of what he thinks of me,” Ruffy said. “I love and respect him. I have nothing bad to say about Jean, only good things. Jean is an incredible person.”
Ruffy added “I don’t know what happened” to lead to Silva unfollowing him on social media, “but he must have his reasons. And it’s all good to me. I haven’t unfollowed him. I have absolutely nothing against him. Quite the opposite, only love and respect.”
The UFC lightweight said he would return to Sao Paulo after winning at UFC 325 and planned on training at The Fighting Nerds gym, and didn’t rule out working on the mats and cages with Silva.
“Zero chance. It’s over,” Silva said when asked about that possibility. “I’ll make something very clear here so we can change topics: I wish Ruffy the best. This kid is an absolute star. He has personal problems to deal with and I hope he seeks help. Not only him but many other athletes do. I do, too. I go to the psychiatrist every single week. There’s a lot of pressure going on in the UFC, so I hope he goes on with his life and be well. But Jean and Ruffy is no more. Straight talk. It only existed in my head.”
