3 Ways for Jean Silva to Beat Diego Lopes at UFC Noche

At UFC Paris, the Fighting Nerds suffered a massive blow! Their captain, Caio Borralho, and star trooper Mauricio Ruffy ended up losing their fights against Nassourdine Imavov and Benoit Saint Denis, respectively. So now, fans are expecting Jean Silva to get them back on the winning track when he takes on the dangerous Diego Lopes at UFC Noche this Saturday! The opportunity is huge for ‘Lord’ to prove that he’s truly next in line for a title shot. But the UFC world isn’t fully convinced.

Many believe that for Silva, facing the former 145lbs title challenger could be a difficult mountain to climb. The reason? The Brazilian doesn’t yet have a top-5 featherweight win on his resume. On top of that, Lopes comes in as the taller fighter, 5’11” with a longer reach of 72.5″ compared to Silva’s 5’7’’ frame and 69″ reach. So, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say Lopes will get the majority of votes going into their anticipated clash. But wait. He might still end up pulling off the victory. And here are three ways how!

Jean Silva needs feints to bait Diego Lopes

After Ilia Topuria left the featherweight division, Jean Silva has emerged as one of the most powerful punchers in the weight class, right alongside Josh Emmett. He’s earned that reputation by brutally finishing his last five opponents. And to be fair, that power could be a real problem for Diego Lopes, who’s also a juggernaut in his own right. Still, Silva needs to be cautious with how he uses his punches in the upcoming fight against his fellow Brazilian.

At the UFC 314 main event, Lopes showed impressive counter-punching against Alexander Volkanovski. Even though he was knocked down a couple of times, Lopes was able to find that clean 1-2 combination, which dropped the reigning champion in the later rounds. Why did that happen? Because ‘The Great’ showed too much aggressiveness after winning the first two rounds, and that gave the 30-year-old plenty of openings to let his hands go. Although Volkanovski ended up surviving in the later rounds,  it’s also true that he had tremendous success using feints against Lopes in the first couple of rounds.

The Aussie stuck out his jab, which forced Lopes to guess whether a left hook or an uppercut was coming next. More often than not, the featherweight champ landed clean with either a left hook or an overhand. That’s the kind of strategy Silva needs to adopt if he wants to succeed. He cannot just rush forward, hoping to land a haymaker! Silva must create the openings first and then capitalize with powerful punches. And if he lands some of those, then the next steps become a little bit easier. 

Fighting Nerds’ savior must fight intelligently

Confidence is everything in a fight! And against a dangerous striker like Diego Lopes, it becomes even more important. Jean Silva needs to build that confidence early by landing some well-timed shots. If the São Paulo fighter can connect with a clean left-right hook combination in the opening exchanges, fighting inside the pocket will eventually become less difficult. Of course, that’s easier said than done because getting to that point will be a real challenge for the Fighting Nerds’ warrior.

Lopes often comes forward aggressively, headhunting with his punches. However, that high-guard stance sometimes leaves his body exposed, which Rob Font smartly targeted in their UFC 303 fight. So, if Silva follows that blueprint, he can close the gap and diversify his attack by going to the body rather than just headhunting. Once those body shots start landing, opportunities for a sneaky uppercut could open up.

That said, Silva must also be prepared to fight going backward and use his lateral movement. But he cannot afford to stay too far on the outside, where Lopes’ devastating teep kicks will become a serious weapon. With the height and reach disadvantage, the 28-year-old Nerd must be mindful and close the distance intelligently, trusting his power to inflict all-around damage before searching for the headshot.

And let’s not forget that Lopes has a granite chin. That’s why ‘Lord’ needs to accept that he may not put Lopes away with a single bomb. That means his hunting has to be strategy-based, not wild, looping shots that drain his gas tank. This will also be Silva’s first scheduled five-round fight, so conserving energy will be crucial. Which brings us to another key factor! What happens if this fight hits the ground?

Ground game could get tricky to control  

The UFC Noche headliners are known for having some of the best hands in the division. But they’re also elite ground artists. Both Diego Lopes and Jean Silva possess highly skilled Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques that can turn the tide at any moment. Still, when it comes to the mat, engaging with Lopes might not be the smartest idea. And here’s why.

Let’s rewind to Lopes’ debut at UFC 288 against the undefeated Russian, Movsar Evloev. In that fight, Lopes showcased slick transitions, nearly catching Evloev in an armbar and later in a triangle. It was only Evloev’s incredible resilience. His refusal to tap and ability to fight his way somehow kept his record unblemished. Still, that performance proved one thing! Any mistake against Lopes on the ground can be costly. That’s not to say Jean Silva is helpless in grappling exchanges. Far from it.

His nasty ninja choke finish against Bryce Mitchell at UFC 314 is proof that he’s dangerous if given the opportunity. But outside of that, we haven’t seen Silva pushed into deep submission waters and come back out. For that reason, it would be wise for the Fighting Nerds’ representative to keep the fight standing. Still, if the opportunity presents itself, Silva shouldn’t hesitate to use his wrestling shooting for double-legs against the cage and focus on ground-and-pound instead of hunting submissions. That approach could serve him far better.

With all that said, the UFC Noche main event promises nothing short of fireworks. So the question remains: who do you have winning this incredible featherweight showdown? Let us know in the comments below!