Joaquim Silva and Arman Tsarukyan represent American Top Team when they enter the octagon — and have fought each other before in the UFC —, but “Netto BJJ” doesn’t see a favorable outcome if Tsarukyan gets his chance for gold against UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria.
Speaking with MMA Fighting ahead of his Noche UFC bout with Claudio Puelles this Saturday night in San Antonio, Silva defended that Tsarukyan deserves to earn the next title shot after winning four in a row in the UFC over Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, Damir Ismagulov and him.
“He’s the guy to fight Topuria, no doubt. It’s undeniable, can’t say anything against that,” Silva said. “But he has flaws on the feet. When I fought him, I was able to land a good left hand. I took the fight on four, five weeks’ notice, it was on short notice. With a good camp, I think I would have had a better fight.”
Topuria rose to the top with great wins at featherweight and went on a historic run to win two belts at 145 and 155 pounds, knocking out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Oliveira.
“Topuria is a complicated fight for him, in my point of view,” Silva said. “Because Topuria has good takedown defense, great grappling and wrestling, and will avoid his takedowns to work on his boxing. It’s hard to avoid Topuria, he’s showing that in his fights. I see Topuria as the favorite for this fight. Arman is very tough, very fast. It’s hard to keep up with his speed, but I think this is a complicated fight for him.”
“I thought Charles would win [vs. Topuria],” he continued. “I think Charles was going to work the knee. [Topuria] was almost knocked out in first fight at lightweight, fighting a guy with a body type just like Charles’. I thought Charles was going to go with kicks to the head.”
The UFC has yet to determine who’s next for Topuria. He even said recently that the UFC should “take my belt” if Tsarukyan was the No. 1 contender, showing no interest in facing the 28-year-old lightweight. With that still up in the air and depending on what the next move is, Silva predicts a long reign for Topuria should he stay in the division.
“There are a lot of very tough names in the division, but I think this is his moment,” Silva said. “He will last long in the division. I don’t know what the plans are for him in the UFC, if they will put him against Makhachev, I don’t know if that fight will happen, but I see him being a dominant champion for some time. He has that complete game.”
While Tsarukyan waits for a decision at the top of the division, “Netto BJJ” re-enters the octagon Saturday hoping to put an end to an unstable run in the division. Silva, who started in the UFC with a trio of wins after leaving The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4 in 2015, won three of his past eight. Silva said he broke his hand against Tsarukyan in June 2023, and still beat Clay Guida later that year and lost to Drakkar Klose in May 2024 before realizing he couldn’t delay treating that injury any longer.
Silva had surgery and was out for three to four months when finally cleared this year. A Rafa Garcia clash in March was cancelled due to visa issues, and he finally gets to return against Puelles.
“I think Rafa Garcia is a little bit less complicated [than Puelles] because he’s a bit shorter than me and would try to take me down, and I think I would have more control on the things I would try,” Silva said. “I have to be more cautious against Claudio because he’s a southpaw and has good jiu-jitsu.”
With an overall record of 6-5 in the UFC, Silva ignores the potential pressure of being backed against the wall.
“I think that a loss puts you in a state where you have to think, to look back at things,” Silva said. “It’s good to analyze things after a victory, but a loss makes you get better as a person. You either stagnate and get eaten by it all, or you get better. Fighting is a career, it will be over one day. We, as humans, will have many years ahead in life to experience things.
“Looking at this moment of ups and downs in the UFC, I’ve been through worse. There was a fight in 2022, the last one in my contract, and I had lost two in a row. I was going to fight a dangerous southpaw, Jesse Ronson. Last fight in my contract, coming off a loss, just imagine the pressure. I had just moved to the United States, a new team — American Top Team. It would be a huge pressure for everybody, but I didn’t use that against myself. And it worked. And it won’t be different for this fight.”
