Erick Silva, UFC FX 3: A Legit Contender Has Emerged

Erick Silva is for real. In a division led by game planners Georges St. Pierre and Carlos Condit, Erick Silva is a finisher.

In his first three UFC fights, Silva has spent a total of 5:41 in the octagon, finishing all matches. But think about this: in their first three UFC fights, GSP needed 21:41 with one finish; while interim champ Carlos Condit needed 44:53 with only one finish as well. All three guys went 2-1 throughout the three matches.

In the one UFC loss he has, Silva was disqualified for punches in the back of the head of Carlo Prater in a controversial finish. Silva landed a knee flush to the body, then followed up with 14 lightning-fast punches to the head of his opponent. Unfortunately for Silva, though, these punches resulted in referee Mario Yamasaki ruling the bout a disqualification.

In the post fight interview, Joe Rogan even questioned Yamasaki in the middle of the ring, while showing him a replay demonstrating that only one of the quick 14 finishing blows landed on the back of the head. Yamasaki then said, “He hit some in the back of the head and some not in the back of the head but I have to decide right there and then. There’s nothing I can do.”

As a result of that now controversial decision, the UFC treated the fight as a win for Silva and had him fight Charlie Brenneman, who was coming off a win against Daniel Roberts and is a fringe top ten guy in the Welterweight division.

Silva took him out in one round.

So, it's about time to start taking this guy seriously. He’s an exciting, explosive fighter; and, most importantly, with 79% of his wins coming by either KO or submission, he’s a finisher. There should be a premium on guys who go for the kill, and Silva definitely fits the bill. Next up for him should be a top ten guy so everyone can see where he goes from there. But make no mistake about it, Erick Silva is for real.