On Saturday, Jean Silva suffered a brutal loss to Diego Lopes at UFC Noche in a featherweight bout.
The defeat was Silva’s first, as many of his prior fights ended within the first round. Silva was unsatisfied with the result, feeling the referee stopped the bout too soon despite him being caught in a ground-and-pound. He argued against the stoppage and even took a swing at Lopes after the fight had been called.
The setback is significant for Silva, as his unblemished record is now gone. The loss also marks the end of an era for the Fighting Nerds, with two other members of the group, Caio Borralho and Mauricio Ruffy, also suffering defeats in their previous matches.
On Sunday, Silva posted a statement on social media addressing the loss.
“Unfortunately, yesterday the emotion got the better of me,” Silva said in Portuguese (English translation via Championship Rounds). “I was seeing well in the second round, but I ended up rushing in with everything just wanting to throw down.”
“I ended up fighting alone, I wasn’t connected with my team,” Silva added. “So the responsibility is all mine for this loss.”
Following the setback, critics have begun questioning the validity of the fighters’ previous records and criticising their past results. Through it all, Silva remains unbothered and promises his team will bounce back.
“One thing you guys were right about: The Fighting Nerds lost three in a row,” Silva said. “So the three of us must be making similar mistakes. So for sure, me, Caio, and Ruffy will have a meeting. We’ll figure this out and improve. Whether people like it or not, I’m sorry, but we’ll be back.”
