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Lopes and Silva were eventually able to bury the hatchet after their Noche UFC bout. | Getty/UFC
While Diego Lopes and Jean Silva put on a “Fight of the Year” contender at Noche UFC, the action didn’t stop when the bout concluded.
Lopes ended a wild featherweight affair at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday when he vanquished Silva with a spinning back elbow and follow-up punches at the 4:48 mark of Round 2. Once the victory was sealed, the Lobo Gym MMA product jumped on the cage and unleashed a pair of middle fingers in celebration.
According to Lopes, that reaction was a direct result of Silva’s Fighting Nerds teammates antagonizing him during his walk to the Octagon.
“Before I even entered in the Octagon, the cutman was putting the Vaseline on my face. One of his corners was talking a lot like, ‘Oh, you’re going to die today. This guy will kill you.’ Sorry, guys. ‘You suck. This guy will knock you out.’ He talked a lot of words, you know?” Lopes said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “After this, it’s OK. It’s OK. After I finished the fight, I went to face the training partners. Sorry, I showed my fingers for these guys.”
That wasn’t quite the end of the tension, however, as Silva attempted to hit Lopes in the back of the head in the aftermath. It did appear that the featherweight combatants were eventually able to bury the hatchet once the official result was announced.
“I’m surprised he did this, too,” Lopes said. “I felt the punch in the back of my head. I’m turning like, ‘Did Jean punch me in the back of my head?’ I didn’t understand why. It’s OK. This is maybe the emotion of this time, because the guy is a little bit angry because he lost the fight. But it’s OK. I feel good now. This is my moment. … I’m not going to pay that price for that victory.”
Lopes was dominant in the opening stanza, where he capitalized on an errant Silva spinning attack to land an early takedown. He spent much of the round in full mount, raining down offense on his fellow Brazilian. Silva found his mojo in Round 2, and he appeared to be gaining momentum prior to the decisive sequence. However, “Lord” displayed a little too much aggression, and Lopes was able to take advantage. Silva had tried several spinning attacks before the finish, but it was Lopes maneuver that really connected.
Lopes Capitalized on Silva’s Aggression
“I prepared a lot for this fight,” Lopes said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “I [said] all week, I’m coming guys but [I do my talking] in the Octagon. I tell you this game has levels. Today, I showed everyone this game has levels.
“After he started connecting with a couple of punches [I knew] that he would have more confidence to try for the knockout. But I know, after this, every time this guy is a little bit exposed. He attacks so long, he’s a little bit exposed this time for the spinning back elbow. I trained this backstage with my coach and my training partners, too. I’m so grateful to my team for this perfect game plan.”
Lopes was one bout removed from a championship opportunity at UFC 314, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Alexander Volkanovski. With wins in six of his last seven Octagon appearances, the 30-year-old Brazilian appears to still be on the short list of contenders in the weight class, though an immediate title shot might not be in the cards.
“UFC tells me I have to do one more fight. OK, I’ll take one more fight,” Lopes said. “It’s OK. I’m No. 2 in the rankings now. I don’t have a lot of options in my front. Maybe one more fight, or I don’t know. I take a great win tonight. I put my name on the table to fight for the title again.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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