SAN ANTONIO, TX – The UFC is presenting their annual ‘Noche’ event in a card with great fights up and down the card and capping it off with a fantastic featherweight bout between surging featherweight contender Jean Silva and ever-so-tough Diego Lopes.
The face of The Fighting Nerds, “Lord” Jean Silva, has really taken the division by storm and is just months removed from the slaughtering of Bryce Mitchell. Jean Silva reminds me a lot of the likes of Renan Barao and Anderson Silva – two Brazilian MMA legends. The counter power punches, slipping and weaving shots coming his way, powerful leg kicks, and his athleticism behind his ability to defend takedowns with ease. Silva is really special in my opinion, and I see glimpses of those two in his game. His patience he displayed against Bryce Mitchel,l picking his spots when to attack as he defended takedowns, was a near flawless performance. Once Silva realized Mitchell had nothing to offer him, you could see the hands drop, the swagger in the movement, and the precise power punches being landed that were forcing Mitchell to cover and pedal on the back foot, shooting desperate takedown attempts. A beautiful ninja choke capped off a brilliant performance from Silva, staking his claim for a title shot sooner rather than later.
Lopes is a tough and fun fighter who really can dig deep in the trenches of a fight. Solid ground game with some power behind his punches, but I think he is simply outgunned here in this one. His best chance at winning is to make Silva work and hopefully slow him down in the later rounds. But Jean Silva may not even give him the opportunity for that to happen. We have seen Silva go three full rounds once in the Contender Series, but he has never been further than that. The cardio is something to possibly take note of here. I am not outright saying Silva has cardio concerns but never being past the third round is something to keep an eye on. However, Lopes has questions on his endurance, too, even in three-round fights. To Silva’s credit, he does not like to waste energy and picks his moments to strike. I am picking him here to get the job done and most likely by the finish. I could see a decision win as well due to how incredibly tough Lopes is.
Pick: Jean Silva (-225)
