Kevin Vallejos seeks revenge on Jean Silva for 2023 DWCS loss

Now in the UFC, Kevin Vallejos wants to avenge his 2023 DWCS loss to Jean Silva.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Kevin Vallejos[/autotag] is officially a UFC fighter, and he has one name on his hit list as he enters his new promotion.

The Argentine featherweight earned a UFC contract on Tuesday after picking up a TKO win over Cam Teague at Dana White’s Contender Series 73. This was his second appearance on DWCS, as he had fought and lost to [autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag] in last year’s edition of the show.

Vallejos (14-1) is willing to fight whoever the UFC puts in front of him, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t want to avenge his most recent defeat.

“This is the company I work for, so I’ll be ready for whenever they call me,” Vallejos said. “I obviously have my objectives, like getting my revenge, which I want, but everything in its time. I need to keep working, I need to keep climbing, but I do want a rematch.”

After losing to Silva, Vallejos won two in a row to earn himself another shot at DWCS. He wants to make clear that there’s no ill will towards the Brazilian. It’s just competition.

“Jean Silva has three consecutive wins, and one win wasn’t even in his weight class,” Vallejos said. “He’s a very dangerous guy, very strong, and I’m proud I lost to someone like that. Obviously, when I lost I was angry, and I was upset to see him debut because I was thinking that should’ve been my spot. But today, I have no anger towards him, and I’ve actually spoken to him and congratulated him on his fights. The revenge is just a splinter that I still have and something personal about honor, that’s it.

“I’m not angry at him. I’m thankful that he beat me and that he showed me that I was missing something. That’s why today I’m here. Today, I came here, and I won a contract and this is thanks to losing and realizing everything that I was missing. Losing to Jean Silva was a positive thing.”

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Nerd World Order: The Fighting Nerds and their quest for ‘bully payback time’

Led by Caio Borralho and coach Pablo Sucupira, Nerds are taking over the UFC – and they’re looking for revenge.

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag] sat in the corner of a São Paulo gym and glanced up at the clock on the wall. The time for the meetup was near, but there was no sign of his man yet.

Fighters filed in, ready for their training sessions. Behind them entered a smaller man. He didn’t strike Borralho as a fighter. Borralho wasn’t sure exactly who he was looking for, but this couldn’t be the guy.

“Are you Caio? Are you here to train?” he asked.

Borralho nodded and replied, “Yeah, I came to train.”

“Oh, yeah,” the man responded without hesitation. “Let’s go. You’re going to train with me.”

Borralho followed the man, questioning the decision making that led him to this point.

“With this guy?” Borralho thought to himself.

It was 2014 and a few weeks prior to the meetup with the man who would change the course of his life, Borralho asked friend and fellow fighter Bruno Murata how he could fast-track his striking game.

At that time, Borralho was solely a grappler. His standup game was novice, so Murata recommended a mutual friend, Pablo Sucupira, a muay Thai competitor and boxing specialist.

“What the f*ck? OK, I’m not going to go hard with this thin guy. I’m not going to hurt him his first day,” Borralho remembers thinking.

Wrong.

What surprised Borralho more than Sucupira’s unassuming appearance was the beatdown he dished out during their first training session. Borralho remembers peeling himself up off the mat, depleted after just a few minutes.

“Man, that was the biggest ass beating I’ve ever gotten in my life,” Borralho recalled.

Nerds unite

The hard training session that day marked the start of a beautiful bond between teacher and pupil. Initially, Sucupira had one foot in the boxing world and Borralho cross-training with Demian Maia’s team. But as time passed, Sucupira became Borralho’s go-to coach, and Borralho became Sucupira’s star student. Eventually, Sucupira turned his full attention to MMA and decided to start his own gym. Borralho, of course, went with him.

The Fighting Nerds team now consists of one dozen coaches and dozens more fighters. But at the start, there was just two men.

“The name of the fighter who started all of this was Caio Borralho,” Sucupira told MMA Junkie. “When he arrived in the team, he was very raw, yes. I started to work with him. I always had a different vision of the fight. He was one of the guys who truly believed in myself and my vision. He paid the price doing the different things that I proposed to him and the different way of fighting. Then things started to pay off.”

Their gym, formally named Combat Club São Paulo, was literally built with a hammer and a nail by Sucupira.

I painted the walls,” Borralho told MMA Junkie, laughing. “We built a big ring. We put a big octagon, the same size as the UFC octagon. We built that inside the gym. We actually built that together.”

The team slowly gained more members. Maia’s grappling coach, Wagner Mota, jumped on board, but Sucupira wanted an MMA-centric mind too. So he sought out Flavio Alvaro, a Brazilian legend with more than 70 fights.

“He said, ‘Oh, Pablo. I don’t know. Maybe if you pay me a lot,'” Sucupira recalls. “I didn’t have any money. I said, ‘No, no, no, brother.’ I don’t have money. If you want to come, you have to believe in what we’re doing here. Because it’s going to be a bet. I promise you’ll have something. But now, we just have the athletes.’

“He went to our gym, and I spoke with him a lot about my vision. He met Caio and the other guys. By the end, he said, ‘Hey, I’m here for free. I don’t want any money. Let’s make those guys big stars and then I get some money.'”

Pablo Sucupira (left) wins a muay Thai bout during his competition days.

Classroom mentality

The MMA landscape is full of “Pitbulls” and “Lionhearts.” Sucupira and Borralho refused trying to fabricate faux street cred. They were unapologetically nerdy.

Growing up, Borralho loved school. He taught math and chemistry to peers for money. Sucupira worked a desk job as a copywriter.

“Nobody (at work) gave me credit,” Sucupira said. “They said, ‘You’re too crazy. Your ideas are too wild.’ This hurt me a lot. I quit the marketing and just started fighting. But one day I needed to use that.”

One day he did use that marketing background in a monumental way. Brainstorming team names, he blurted out “The Fighting Nerds.” It was an instant selection.

“I was (immediately) like, ‘That’s the name. That’s the name that consumes everything,'” Borralho remembers.

Of all the Fighting Nerd branding angles, none is more distinct than the signature glasses sported by the fighters and corners, and even occasionally in-cage interviewers Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier. Even the UFC, with its generally restrictive policy against props, approved the glasses after some convincing by Sucupira.

In the beginning, they said no,” Sucupira said. “But what I told them is I’m not making any money. I’m not selling glasses. I don’t have a sponsorship with glasses. It’s just the logo of our team. It’s the wig of Paddy Pimblett or Khabib. It’s the same as the big wig that they use. So it’s the same. I just put the glasses on.”

Unanimously, the glasses were a hit.

“This is an easy gift to give to people and attach people to our team,” Sucupira said. “So The Fighting Nerd glasses show to the world that the fighters are smart, because they think when nobody can think. When you’re inside a fight, inside a cage, with another fighter trying to kill you, it’s hard to think inside there. The adrenaline is too strong. If you’re able to think in that situation, you are one of the smartest guys in the world. This is what the glasses represent, that we think when nobody can think. We think when bullets are being fired.

“The Fighting Nerds are the most intelligent guys in the world, because they think when they are throwing kicks, throwing punches inside the cage.”

Pablo Sucupira lends Joe Rogan a pair of Nerd glasses after a win from Jean Silva.

Sucupira buys hundreds of pairs of lens-less black plastic glasses at a time. The signature piece of tape on each pair, Sucupira adds by hand.

“Just for this fight, I brought 350,” Sucupira said with a big grin. “… We make them. I bought just the glasses and then put the tape here. We keep the whole day doing it. It’s like therapy.”

The best thing about the glasses, explained Borralho (who admits he wore taped glasses in high school), is how it’s shown them how much they are respected across the globe after years being ridiculed for their name and appearance on the Brazilian regional scene.

“When I am in the (UFC Performance Institute), guys from other teams go, ‘Oh, give me a glasses,’ and they put the glasses on,” Sucupira said. “The most impressive thing, in Brazil, we had a fight. We fought, and our fighter won the fight, but the other guy went to our locker room and asked for a glasses, a Fighting Nerd glasses. He said, ‘I lost the fight, but can I have a Fighting Nerd glasses?’

“I thought, ‘This is bigger than the team.'”

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 28: Caio Borralho prepares to fight Aaron Jeffery in a middleweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season five week five at UFC APEX on September 28, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Not f*cking leaving

The Fighting Nerds breakthrough moment finally came in 2021. Seven years after the journey began, Borralho received an offer to compete for a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series.

In Sucupira’s coaching methodology, fighting is a problem needing to be solved. A proponent of formulating game plans specific to individual opponents, Sucupira instilled in Borralho a mentality of fighting smarter, not tougher.

“You have to find the best way to solve any problem,” Sucupira explained. “A fight is a big problem to solve.”

When Borralho fought Aaron Jeffery on the series, he solved the equation … but only part of it. The fight wasn’t exciting enough for Dana White, who passed on extending a contract offer.

The shuttle ride back to the hotel was quiet until Borralho perked up.

“Pablo, I’m not coming back,” Borralho said.

Sucupira replied, “How’s that, Caio? You have to come back.”

“No, I’m not coming back. I’m just coming back with the contract,” Borralho argued back. “I’m just going to train here.”

Sucupira texted Mick Maynard to inform him of the impromptu decision.

The response dots appeared. Maynard was typing.

“Awesome,” Maynard wrote back.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 19: Caio Borralho reacts after his TKO victory over Jesse Murray in a light heavyweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season five, week eight at UFC APEX on October 19, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

The gamble paid off. Maynard circled back a few weeks later and offered Borralho a short notice fill-in spot, up a weight class vs. Jesse Murray.

It was an easy yes. This time, however, the approach needed tweaking. Excitement was a necessary part of the equation.

“We knew that we needed to put on a show,” Sucupira said. “That was the way to solve that problem – and he did that. He put on a show.”

Borralho finished Murray in Round 1, and the UFC contract came, a massive moment for the entire squad of Nerds.

“I felt it was really hard to burst onto the scene,” Sucupira said. “But when we did that, it was a takeover.”

Nerds standing in front of a Nerd mural at their gym (left to right: Icao Brito, Jean Silva, coach Pablo Sucupira, Thiago Moises, Mauricio Ruffy)

Nerd World Order

Three years later, it’s another milestone. Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 62 headliner between Borralho and Jared Cannonier will mark the team’s first main event.

The Nerds enter with a tremendous amount of momentum. Although Borralho is the unofficial captain, other clubhouse leaders have emerged. Fans have become attached to the fighters – and their personalities.

Everyone is different,” Borralho said. “We see [autotag]Carlos Prates[/autotag]. He smokes cigarettes and all this sh*t. He drinks a lot and other stuff. But when it comes about fighting, about studying, about putting a serious thing on the line, he’s one of the best. He trains his ass off. He’s very into it. Then we have [autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag], who is a crazy motherf*cker that barks, that talks sh*t a lot and other stuff. But when it comes about training, about fighting, about studying, he’s one of the hardest workers that I’ve ever seen.”

More than the glasses or their in-cage success, the team is tied by the message they want to send. It’s time for nerds to get their revenge – and inspire.

 “When you think about a nerd guy, you always see a guy who wants to be the best in the class room,” Borralho said. “The nerd, if he’s going into a test and he took a B+, he would be upset. Like, ‘I wanted my A+.’ …We have a big message to inspire people. We’ve seen a lot of bully things happening in the world. A lot of this sh*t happening, it’s bully payback time.

“… Imagine a guy who suffers bullying all the time for being a nerd or wearing glasses or anything like that, and he sees big nerds fighting on the biggest stages of the world, fighting the baddest guys in the world and beating their ass. It’s really bully payback, so that really inspires them, not just to fight but just to be whoever they want. They have this powerful thing inside of them, just to overcome everything that happens in their life about bullying and other sh*t.”

Sucupira echoed, “We prove that you don’t need to be a bully to win fights. You don’t need to be angry to beat a guy. You don’t need to vibe in a bad way. We knock people out. We do bonus performances. But we do it in a love vibe. We do it liking each other.”

Brazil’s Carlos Prates celebrates his win by knocking out China’s Li Jingliang in their men’s welterweight division event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 305 at the Perth Arena in Perth on August 18, 2024. (Photo by COLIN MURTY / AFP) / — IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE — (Photo by COLIN MURTY/AFP via Getty Images)

Beyond Borralho and the cigarette-smoking sniper Prates and the barking Silva, there’s [autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag], a powerful striker who already has fans buzzing after just one UFC appearance. There’s [autotag]Bruna Brasil[/autotag], who recently beat Molly McCann. There’s veteran [autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag], who joined the team after years at American Top Team. There’s UFC lightweight [autotag]Kaynan Kruschewsky[/autotag].

Sucupira and Borralho say to also keep an eye out for unsigned prospects Icaro Brito, Geovanis Palacios, Natalia Alves, Felipe Douglas, and Fabricio Azevedo, who could make a splash in years to come.

“I’m more hungry. I’m more pumped,” Sucupira said. “I like to be the best that I can. Now we are in the UFC, I think we have the structure to go one step ahead also. You can expect a better Fighting Nerds each year, more guys, more performances, and you can count on that. In one or two years, you can count on a Fighting Nerd champion.”

Sucupira and Borralho constructed a gym. They crafted a mentality. They formed a team around them and built a culture. Borralho gets emotional reflecting on the journey now that it’s paying off.

I’m always thankful because when we started this sh*t, we were like, ‘Maybe we’re just crazy guys who believe a lot in ourselves. Let’s see if this works.’ We didn’t know. We already knew, but we didn’t know,” Borralho said. “To see it all the way through and all that we have already accomplished and to see all that we will accomplish, because it’s just the beginning of the takeover.

“… Seeing everything changing: money perspective, fame perspective, sparring perspective. It’s crazy. It’s weird to think about how far we’ve come and how far we’re still going. It’s the first headliner, the first of many. I’m top 12 in the world, soon to be top five.”

And perhaps someday, Sucupira and Borralho will break out the hammers and nails once more – to hang up something special.

“We’ll put a big belt on the wall for sure,” Borralho said.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

Video: What are the ceilings for Rose Namajunas, Tracy Cortez and Jean Silva after UFC on ESPN 59?

Rose Namajunas and Tracy Cortez were the headlining act at UFC on ESPN 59, but Jean Silva may have stolen the show.

The UFC returned to its birthplace of Denver for the first time in more than five years Saturday with UFC on ESPN 59, and in the aftermath of the event, the most-discussed fighters included [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag], [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag] and [autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag].

Namajunas (14-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) defeated Cortez (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) by unanimous decision in the women’s flyweight headliner at Ball Arena to improve to 2-1 since she moved up to women’s flyweight. The former two-time UFC strawweight champ snapped the 11-fight winning streak to Cortez, leaving questions about what the future holds for both women.

The star of the show, however, may have been Silva (14-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who made a two-week turnaround from his UFC 303 knockout of Charles Jourdain and moved up a weight class to defeat Drew Dober in the Fight of the Night. The Brazilian is one of the most unique personalities in the UFC, and after stopping Dober with one of the nastiest cuts in recent UFC history, he appears to have a bright future.

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MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and host “Gorgeous” George Garcia reviewed the results from the card in the latest episode of the show.

You can watch the UFC on ESPN 59 recap segment above, or the complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

https://youtube.com/live/8uo8HhHfHTM

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Jean Silva honored to have fought and defeated Drew Dober at UFC Denver: ‘I’m such a huge fan of his’

Jean Silva reflects on his TKO win over Drew Dober at Saturday’s UFC Denver.

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag] is over the moon with his latest win in the octagon.

Saturday on the main card of UFC on ESPN 59, Silva (14-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) continued his path of destruction in the UFC, this time a weight class above and against the toughest opponent he’s yet to face in his career – Drew Dober.

“It’s like I’ve been saying all week, I’m such a huge fan of his,” Silva told FanSided MMA. “Look at what he’s done. Look at the things he’s accomplished and has been able to build in his life, all with his work. Look at the beautiful family he has and the house he has. This crowd and this arena, look at the way they were screaming.

“So to share this stage with him, I’m very proud, and the Lord is very proud to have been in there with him.”

Silva won by TKO due to doctor’s stoppage, as he badly cut Dober (27-14 MMA, 13-10 UFC) on his right eyebrow. It was a bout that although it was going in Silva’s favor, there was plenty of damage dished both ways for over 10 minutes.

The Brazilian is definitely feeling the ware and is hesitant on fighting again at 155 pounds, as opposed to his natural division of 145.

“I’m going to have to sit with the Lord and have a tough conversation about this,” Silva said. “We’ve been knocking everybody out in the first round and all of a sudden, what the hell? What’s up with doing more rounds. It took such a long time.

“But anyway, that’s exactly what we anticipated. I said bye to my entire family and friends. I said before this fight, ‘Nope, if I don’t come out with the win, I’ll die in there.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC on ESPN 59 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2024 total passes $4 million

The UFC has now issued more than $4 million in Promotional Guidelines Compliance to its fighters in 2024 after UFC Denver.

DENVER – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 59 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $180,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC on ESPN 59 took place at Ball Arena in Colorado. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 59 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Santiago Ponzinibbio[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Gabriel Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ange Loosa[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag]: $11,000
vs. [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Fatima Kline[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Luana Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Petroski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Evan Elder[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Darrius Flowers[/autotag]: $4,500

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $31,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-59 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,129,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $26,866,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC on ESPN 59 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

UFC on ESPN 59 results: Jean Silva opens nasty gash on Drew Dober for short notice TKO

Jean Silva picked up his second win in two weeks by slicing Drew Dober on the main card of UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver.

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag] entered enemy territory on short notice to face an always-dangerous Drew Dober, and picked up his second win in two weeks.

At UFC on ESPN 59 at Ball Arena in Denver, Silva (14-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) not only stepped up as a replacement for the injured Mike Davis, but also moved up a weight class to meet Dober (27-14 MMA, 13-10 UFC) at lightweight. The fight turned out to be an incredible battle that ended at 1:28 of Round 3 due to a nasty cut over Dober’s right eye.

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Early on, it was apparent the judges’ input was not likely to be needed. The feel-out process didn’t last long, as Dober and Silva began firing hard shots as the opening round progressed. The cut that would eventually lead to the stoppage of the fight was opened on Dober during an exchange.

In Round 2, the striking intensity continued at a high pace as Dober stalked forward. In the closing moments, a Silva spinning back elbow connected flush to Dober, rocking him in a big moment just before the horn.

The ringside doctor assessed Dober’s cut between rounds, but the fight was allowed to continue.

Silva continued to land well in the final round, causing the cut to open up even more, and became too much for referee Herb Dean to ignore. After the doctor took another look, the fight was waved off.

Silva competed two weeks prior at UFC 303, defeating Charles Jordain in a featherweight bout by second-round knockout. However, the victory was tained by Silva’s weight miss by 1.5 pounds.

Dober failed to return to the win column after dropping a unanimous decision to Renato Moicano in February.

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Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 59 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Jean Silva def. Drew Dober at UFC on ESPN 59: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Jean Silva’s third-round TKO win over Drew Dober at UFC on ESPN 59.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]’s third-round TKO win over [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 59 at Ball Arena in Denver. (Fight and venue photos by Ron Chenoy, USA Today Sports)

Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva prediction, pick, start time, odds for UFC on ESPN 59

Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva has Fight of the Night potential at UFC Denver. Will it deliver the goods?

[autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag] and [autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag] meet Saturday on the main card of UFC on ESPN 59 from Ball Arena in Denver. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 2-2
UFC main cards, 2024: 54-51-2

Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva UFC on ESPN 59 preview

Dober (27-13 MMA, 13-9 UFC) will enter UFC on ESPN 59 with the opportunity to once again take sole possession of the promotion’s lightweight knockout record. Right now, he’s tied with Dustin Poirier at nine. Dober, 35, who’s 4-2 in his past six bouts, is coming off a hard-fought unanimous decision loss to Renato Moicano this past February. … Silva, a 27-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series alum, hopes to make it three straight wins to kick off his UFC career. Silva (13-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is turning around quickly after a second-round knockout of Charles Jourdain just two weeks ago at UFC 303.

Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva UFC on ESPN 59 expert pick, prediction

Even though Dober vs. Silva is essentially the quintessential example of a perfect main-card opener, I suppose I should just be grateful that the matchmakers have prominently featured this fight.

Among the matchmaking casualties this card has sustained, Dober – who was initially slated to face Mike Davis – was almost forced off this card if not for the efforts of Silva and the UFC.

Fresh off a second-round starching of Charles Jourdain two weeks ago at UFC 303, Silva will attempt to join the ranks of fighters like Chris Leben and Chas Skelly in regard to record-winning turnarounds in the UFC.

Despite officially standing at just 1-0 opposite UFC-level southpaws, the dynamic of Silva’s game doesn’t change much based on the stance pairing.

I’m not sure how much pressuring Silva will get to do against a fighter like Dober, but I suspect that his countering prowess and power will probably provide problems for the American early. That said, if Dober can survive the early storms, then I suspect that he will be able to pull away with more offense down the stretch.

It feels like a chancy pick and method, but I’ll officially side with Dober to win a nail-biting unanimous decision.

Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva UFC on ESPN 59 odds

The oddsmakers and the public have this fight at a pick’em, listing Dober -110 and Silva -110 via FanDuel.

Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva UFC on ESPN 59 start time, how to watch

As the featured bout, Dober and Silva are expected to make their walks to the cage at approximately 11:35 p.m. ET (9:35 p.m. local time in Denver). The fight airs on ESPN and streams live on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC on ESPN 59: Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 59 odds between Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva, with MMA picks and predictions.

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In a 3-round lightweight bout on the main card, Drew Dober and Jean Silva meet Saturday at UFC on ESPN 59 at Ball Arena in Denver. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the UFC on ESPN 59: Dober vs. Silva odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.

The prelims begin 7 p.m. ET, also on ESPN/ESPN+, while the main card starts at 10 p.m. ET, also on ESPN/ESPN+.

Records: Dober (27-13-0) | Silva (13-2-0)

The veteran Dober is coming off a unanimous-decision loss against Renato Moicano in early February. Going the distance was a rarity, as his previous 5 fights had been decided via KO/TKO, with 4 wins and 1 loss. The last time he went the distance was against Brad Riddell at UFC 263 in June 2021.

Silva has made 2 appearances at the UFC level, both victories via KO/TKO against Westin Wilson and Charles Jourdain. He stopped Jourdain in Round 2 at UFC 303 last time out June 29. His last professional loss came April 21, 2018 at San Jose Super Fight Qualifying: SJSF in a unanimous-decision setback against Gabriel Schlupp de Lima.

The southpaw Dober has a slight 1-inch reach advantage, while Silva has a 5.71-to-4.34 significant strikes landed per minute advantage. Silva is more accurate at 54.44% to 45.80% for Dober, too.

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UFC on ESPN 59: Dober vs. Silva odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:20 p.m. ET.

  • Fight result (2-way line): Dober -105 (bet $105 to win $100) | Silva -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
  • Over/Under: 1.5 rounds (Over -135 | Under +105)
  • Will the fight go the distance? (Yes +230 | No -350)

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UFC on ESPN 59: Dober vs. Silva picks and predictions

Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)

SILVA (-115) is the up-and-comer who is rising quickly, while Dober (-105) is the veteran at 35 years old with a lot of mileage on his tires.

The Elevation Fight Team member Dober has averaged about 2 fights per year since March 2022, going 4-2 with 4 KO/TKO wins in the span. The fights generally do not go very long. Silva has 2 knockouts in 2 UFC fights, and he’ll be eager to engage Dober early in a brawl.

For method of victory, SILVA BY KO/TKO OR DQ (+175) on the method of victory 7-way line is a solid value.

Over/Under (O/U)

OVER 1.5 ROUNDS (-135) is the lean, but go lightly on this particular play.

Dober has been past the halfway mark of Round 2 in 3 of his past 5 fights, with 2 of those bouts ending in Round 1.

Each of Silva’s fights have ended before the midway point of Round 2, but this is a big step up in competition, and it will be tougher for Silva to get Dober finished off early.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva added to UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver

Drew Dober now has an opponent for UFC on ESPN 59 as Jean Silva has stepped up for a quick turnaround.

[autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag] finally has an opponent for UFC on ESPN 59.

Stepping up just days removed from his last fight, [autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag] will fill the “opponent TBA” void for Dober (27-13 MMA, 13-9 UFC) in a lightweight matchup on July 13 at Ball Arena in Denver. The promotion officially announced the matchup on Wednesday.

Dober was originally set to face Mike Davis at the event, but was left without an opponent when “Beast Boy” became injured. Dober wanted to keep the date and has now secured a new foe who just competed at International Fight Week.

Silva (13-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is coming off a knockout win against Charles Jourdain at UFC 303, and will make a quick 14-day turnaround to compete again. While the performance was impressive, it was blemished by a 1.5-pound weight miss over the featherweight limit. For the fight against Dober, he will have an extra 10 pounds to work with in his fast return to the cage.

Dober will look to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Renato Moicano in February which halted the momentum of a TKO victory over Ricky Glenn in October.

With the addition, the UFC on ESPN 59 lineup includes:

  • Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez
  • Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov
  • Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa
  • Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage
  • Mariya Agapova vs. Luana Santos
  • Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski
  • MarQuel Mederos vs. Nazim Sadykhov
  • Charles Johnson vs. Joshua Van

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.