One of the major highlights from UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver was Jean Silva’s move up a weight class to score his third knockout in six months against Drew Dober. The win came just two weeks after “Lord” defeated Charles Jardin at UFC 303.
In an interview with Ag.Fight immediately after the fight, Zhang revealed that UFC has already named a top 15 veteran as his next opponent.
“Unfortunately, I can’t say anything yet, just that it will be at featherweight,” the Fighting Nerds member said.
Silva also promised that if the UFC asks him to step up again in the coming weeks, he will. His only condition is that any short-notice bout take place at 155 pounds.
“My plan for this year is to fight three more times at featherweight, but if UFC makes an exception and asks me to fight a lightweight striker, that could happen,” Silva said, “but my focus is on my weight class.”
In a separate interview with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana, Silva again spoke about the enemy he was so keen to confront and explained the reasons for his loathing.
“UFC has a lot of guys like Dober and a lot of other great family guys who always put on great fights. I was a fan of Dober, but I once asked to take a photo with him and he made me wait an hour. I thought Dober was cool, but he’s actually a total jerk. I’m pretty sure one of my roles in this sport is to be the one to take the offense. He’ll get hit and be humbled. If I hit Dober and it split his head open, I’m not going to tell the referee.”
In an interview on Renato Carneiro’s podcast before the game in Denver, “Lord” gave two hints to those curious to know who the opponent will be.
“There are two guys I want to fight in this division: Dan Ige and Diego Lopez,” he said. “I saw Diego Lopez fight and I would never be a good opponent for him. My striking level is way above his. He has incredible ground level, so fighting him with his jiu-jitsu today wouldn’t work. I don’t want to be a hypocrite, but the moment he steps in front of me…”
