Diego Lopes vs. Jean Silva delivered everything expected from two of the most violent fighters in the featherweight division. The Noche UFC headliners offered more momentum swings, action and blood than should be possible in 10 minutes. Ultimately, Lopes had more weapons at his disposal to get the job done and score the second-round TKO victory in San Antonio.
Lopes and Silva leaned on their respective A-games, grappling and striking, in a surefire Fight of the Year contender. Lopes dominated Round 1 after taking Silva down. Lopes quickly settled into a mount high on Silva’s chest, raining down slicing elbows and punches. A recent amendment allowing 12-6 elbows benefited Lopes, who effectively employed that weapon. Silva’s madman demeanor did not wave under the barrage, as he smiled at Lopes with blood trickling from his scalp.
Referee Mike Beltran was close to stopping the fight, but Silva managed to scramble to his feet in the nick of time. The opening frame was potentially a 10-8 for Lopes, who outstruck Silva 50-10.
A tough first round did not discourage Silva. In Round 2, the short-fused striker dug deep into his back of tricks, repeatedly stunning Lopes with various kicks and punching combinations. Silva repeatedly attempted to land a spinning back elbow which, although unsuccessful, alluded to the finishing sequence.
Silva, with firm control of the fight, chased down Lopes in the closing seconds. Lopes uncorked a spinning back elbow that sent Silva crashing into the mat. The strike opened a huge cut on Silva, and Lopes lunged at the opportunity to land ground strikes for the finish. The referee officially stopped the fight at 4:48 of Round 2.
The fight brought a temporary end to the bad blood between Saturday’s headliners. Lopes and Silva had repeated run-ins in the leadup to their main event in San Antonio. Post-fight, Lopes appeared to be talking to Silva’s corner in an attempt to calm things down between the camps, but Silva popped up in anger as he was still being tended to by the doctors and shoved Lopes in the back of the head. The two sides were able to cool tempers enough for Lopes and Silva to shake hands as blood continued pouring down Silva’s face.
Silva should maintain his position as No. 2 in the UFC’s official featherweight rankings on Monday. He bounced back from a vacant featherweight title loss to Alexander Volkanovski, and called for another title shot. Lopes (27-7) said he’d accept another fight if necessary.
Silva’s loss is another major blow for The Fighting Nerds. The Brazilian contigent of Silva, Caio Borralho, Mauricio Ruffy and Carlos Prates won their first 19 combined UFC fights without a loss. Prates faltered to Ian Machado Garry in April, and the remaining three all major fights in the last seven days.
