Outside Source
Silva’s Fighting Nerds teammate Ilay Barzilay (7-1) is from Israel, and like some athletes from the country, Barzilay is facing backlash amidst the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Barzilay is scheduled to fight Lucas Almeida (15-5) at Gordon Fight Nights 1 on July 27 at Menorah Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv and Silva is set to corner Barzilay for his upcoming fight.
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A fan recently noted that Silva being in the Israeli capital will likely see him be labeled a ‘Zionist’ in Brazil. However, the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight refused to part ways with his longtime teammate. “Lord” also says that he had to go to Israel as none of their other Fighting Nerds teammates could make it. The Brazilian also believes a win over Almeida could earn Barzilay a spot on Dana White’s Contender Series.
“I’m here 100% because of the fight of the Fighting Nerds fighter Illay, who’s one of my main sparring partners,” Silva wrote on X. “Nobody could make it, and this fight could take him to the contender series. He shows up for all my fights, I knew it was gonna be controversial but I chose not to ditch my brother of many years. I know the hate that’s already going around with me about this, but I didn’t wanna abandon my partner of years in one of the most important fights of his life because of hate.”
Barzilay is coming off his lone career loss in a failed Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight title bid against Richie Miranda last August. Meanwhile, his upcoming opponent, Almeida, went 2-4 in the UFC and was released this past February on a two-fight slump.
Eu tô aqui 100% por causa da luta do lutador da fighting nerds Illay, que é um dos meus companheiros de sparring principais
Ninguém conseguia ir, e essa luta pode o levar pro contender. Ele vai em todas as minhas lutas, eu sabia que ia ser controversio mas escolhi não abandonar… https://t.co/I89sN1hQWw— Jean “Lord” Silva (@Jeansilvamma96) July 26, 2026
Eu tô aqui 100% por causa da luta do lutador da fighting nerds Illay, que é um dos meus companheiros de sparring principais
Ninguém conseguia ir, e essa luta pode o levar pro contender. Ele vai em todas as minhas lutas, eu sabia que ia ser controversio mas escolhi não abandonar… https://t.co/I89sN1hQWw— Jean “Lord” Silva (@Jeansilvamma96) July 26, 2026
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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