Joshua Silveira leaves nothing to chance.
The transfer from USA Top Team arrived in Salt Lake City just over a week before his fight against Rob Wilkinson at PFL 5 to allow him to acclimate to the Utah capital’s 4,265ft elevation.
“I know Rob trains up in Colorado, so I’ve had to do some similar altitude training,” Silvera said at PFL media day. “It’s high up in the mountains. I’m from Florida, and it’s like 100 feet above sea level. [there]I’m not used to 5,000 feet, but I came out early. [to] “I want to take responsibility. We’re at the top level, so I want to take responsibility. I’ve invested.”
One of the benefits of training with American Top Team is that Silveira has access to a group of training partners who have experience fighting at altitude, and he has taken full advantage of that knowledge and put it to good use.
“At the end of the day, it’s science. I wasn’t going to find out on fight day,” Silveira said, “but it’s big. My teammates have competed here. That’s what’s great about American Top Team. There’s a lot of knowledge. Everybody told me: Get out there earlier. Bring your teammates. Don’t go too crazy in training. They actually said you acclimate in your sleep. I just came here, did my job and ran a lot. It’s just beautiful. It was a good vacation. Utah is great. It’s been a big part of my training. Something different. But I’m willing to try anything.”
Silveira enters PFL 5 in great form, having stopped Sadib Sy in 74 seconds in his first regular season bout. Although the outcome was disappointing – Sy dislocated his thumb during a takedown – Silveira will enter the next stage of the PFL season in relatively good health.
“Coninha” had mixed feelings about it all.
“At first, part of me thought I was a really bad person, but in a way, I’m a terrible person. Why did I do that? At some point you have to accept it and be grateful that it happened,” Silveira said. “I didn’t do anything illegal. It’s obviously terrible for Sadib. He had a dislodged thumb. I try not to give him any doubt. If the MMA gods had given him 30 seconds to make a decision, he probably would still be fighting.”
“For me, the format was great. Six points, no damage. It’s like going back to where I was last year with six points. That’s fine. But MMA Warrior, I wanted to show you all my progress, my mentality, where I come from. Because I lost in the final.” [in 2023] “In this new season. It’s a strange world out there, but I embrace it.”
Silveira is the PFL welterweight champion who moved up two weight classes to test his mettle. Now, he will face Wilkinson, who is on a quest to become the PFL light heavyweight champion in 2022. In the future, he could face other former PFL champions such as Antonio Carlos Jr. or Impa Kasanganay.
“I feel like this is not the year I have to fight the last former world champion,” Silveira said. “I think I’m going to have to fight some world champions to get to the final, and maybe I’ll fight a former world champion in the final. I want to do that with this organization. Whatever the situation is, I want to beat four or three former champions. It would be amazing to win the belt.”
Silveira had a clear game plan in mind going into his showdown with Rhino, who has struggled against wrestling-oriented opponents in the past, and despite winning the majority of his PFL bouts by KO or TKO, Silveira knows Wilkinson is a bit more well-rounded.
“I’m going to go in and figure out how to get my hand up, whether it’s a kick to the head, a takedown, a choke or I’ll win by decision,” Silveira said. “…This is an interesting fight. I’m not going to force it. I’m going to do what’s given to me. I’m not going to get bullied like some of the other guys. I’m going to push back and try to get to the middle point. I’m going to fight with everything I’ve got. It’s definitely going to be a good fight to get my name out there.”
