Q&A: Jean Silva plans to 'educate Bryce Mitchell'

DAZN News: Can you explain to me what happened in your head in your last fight against Melsik Baghdasaryan ?

Jean Silva: When I’m in the octagon, I’m living my dream. When things happen, they are related to my happiness and the way I proceed in the octagon. It's a dream for me. And that was another chapter, another part of that.

DN: Four fights, four KOs in the UFC. I want to know what's the secret.

JS: On one hand, it's about practicing. On the other hand, at the same time, it's something I worked on inside my house, inside my heart. I visualized it so many times with my wife, when I’m at home, where we are practicing, when we are living it, when we are preparing ourselves. So the biggest thing is at the same time, it's a surprise, but it was our vision before it happened. So a surprise, but not really.

DN: Who is Jean Silva? Because you seem like a really nice guy, but in the cage, you’re Hitman.

JS: I’m a fan of the series, the movie series, the stories about the character called Hitman. I also have a tattoo. But at the same time, me, Jean Silva, don't fully connect with that guy because I’m a happy guy. I’m a very calm guy. But on the other hand, my alter ego, Lord, the guy who gets in the ring, he's definitely a Hitman, and he connects with that. And I got into this place where I don't question that anymore because it's working. So why am I going to question these two different behaviors? Because this other dimension, the Lord dimension, my alter ego is doing his job.

DN: You don’t finish your opponent. Why do you wait for the referee to stop the fight?

JS: There's a popular saying in Brazil, you're not supposed to kick someone when he's down. You don't kick someone on the ground. At that moment, he was down. He was not knocked down. But all his body language made me understand that he was done. He wanted to quit. That's why there was this little pause. And I also said that back in the day in Rome, where there were gladiators, it was like until death. But matchmaking today is more about sports. So I have that sensitivity in order to say, "He’s done. Should I continue?" So I looked at the referee and then the referee signaled to me, "Go ahead, finish him. »

DN: There is no champion in your category because Ilia wants Islam. You are 28 years old. One day, will you be the new champion of your division?

JS: The move of Topuria was a mistake because he already had established himself and should have stayed there a little more. At the same time, I see myself going after that, being the champion. I already visualized it, but I am not in a hurry because every time I fight, I make little money. I can provide for myself, for my family. I’m not worried. I am just going to beat everyone that comes across my way. And then it will be a natural thing to get to the title.

DN: Who's going to win between Volkanovski and Lopes?

JS: I was talking about that with my wife because we analyze and discuss fights all the time. And I think, probably Volkanovski. But it's because he has the experience. He already knows some paths that are still unknown to Diego Lopes. He’s going to run over him if Diego Lopes doesn't change his mindset and bring the same game, the same game plan that he showed in his last fight. Of course, Diego Lopes has a good shot, but I think Diego needs to step up his game. Also, the experience from Volkanovski is going to count a lot in this fight. At the moment, my perspective is that Volkanovski is going to be the champion.

DN: When you fight, we see your boxing. How is your wrestling?

JS: I hope to show my skill level against Bryce because he's going to get me to the ground, and I am going to slap his face. The world wants to see Lord against Bryce Mitchell.

DN: Why do you want him?

JS: I’m not a guy who only likes the big fights, but there's a thing going on about what the other guy is saying, the whole philosophy. He's a public person. So children hear that speech, that hate speech. He's a very bad influence. He has a philosophy that doesn't fit in the modern world, and he's actually doing a bad service to society when he does that. So I want to educate him. So let's discuss that. Let's go to an old-school class. If you're not shutting up, I'm going to shut you up.

DN: We all know that you love the fans. What role do they play in your success?

JS: My wife and me are very grateful for the support of the fans. We know our path was only possible because of the love the fans give, the support, the presence. When we realize that and when we follow that trend, and when we look at and receive the messages, we engage with the fans, we realize we are on the right path, on a growing path. So everything here revolves around the presence of the fans, and I want to give credit to the fans because nothing would happen if it wasn't for the fans.