The Film Room: Joaquim Silva
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Brazilian finisher Joaquim Silva on Saturday will step inside the Octagon for the sixth time when he takes on Nasrat Haqparast in a UFC on ESPN 5 lightweight showcase at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. All but two of the Evolucao Thai export’s 11 professional victories have come by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
The once-beaten Silva steps into the spotlight in this installment
of The Film Room.
The most frustrating aspect of Silva’s game is that he sometimes plays it too safe and smart in the cage. Generally relying on proper technique and intelligence is often better than relying on athleticism and heart, but for certain fighters that is not always the case. Silva often looks his best when forcing exchanges in the pocket and turning fights into wild brawls, but those have been far and few between. Silva compares favorably to a far less polished Rafael dos Anjos. In his most recent fight with Jared Gordon, he spent most of the fight plodding forward and looked calm enough in the pocket to counter and block most of the American’s strikes while forcing him to the fence with his own. He even adopted the dos Anjos mustache, but despite the similarities, Silva has a long way to go if he wants to reach RDA’s level. In the future, it would benefit him to adopt some of dos Anjos’ techniques, like his ability to pressure counter.
Something else reminiscent of dos Anjos are his body shots, but again, he does not use them as much as he should. He also does not mix it up and is either only attacking the body or only attacking the head. If he can learn to mix in these body shots with his usual leading attacks, he would have much more success, especially against the cage when the opponent is flustered.
Silva throws lots of flying knees, but they are becoming more of detriment with each fight. He usually throws them with no setup or follow-up strikes, so the opponent can see them coming and counter or evade. He has had success throwing them as single strikes, but he needs to learn how to set them up or use them as a setup for his punches.
Silva is a black belt in jiu-jitsu and has three submission victories on his record, but he wants to keep the fight standing. He has been held down for long stretches a few times in his UFC career, but his takedown defense for the most part has held up, as he has defended 64 percent of takedowns through five fights.
Brazilian finisher Joaquim Silva on Saturday will step inside the Octagon for the sixth time when he takes on Nasrat Haqparast in a UFC on ESPN 5 lightweight showcase at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. All but two of the Evolucao Thai export’s 11 professional victories have come by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
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Silva and Haqparast are interesting but frustrating talents to
watch. Both have shown flashes of brilliance mixed with flashes of
pure incompetence, but they continue to improve with each fight.
Although most fighters find MMA through another martial art like
boxing or wrestling, Silva started training in all aspects of
fighting from an early age and eventually transitioned to mixed
martial arts in 2009. By the time he started MMA, Silva was already
proficient on the feet and on the ground, and he adjusted to the
sport quickly and efficiently. Silva spends most of his time
working from the outside, using feints and quick combos to back
down the opponent for flurries against the cage or in the pocket.
Most of his leading attacks are quick two- to three-strike combos
before he resets at distance and goes back to pressuring forward.
Even though he does not throw much, the constant forward movement
and varied feints will back most opponents to the fence, where he
does his best work.
The most frustrating aspect of Silva’s game is that he sometimes plays it too safe and smart in the cage. Generally relying on proper technique and intelligence is often better than relying on athleticism and heart, but for certain fighters that is not always the case. Silva often looks his best when forcing exchanges in the pocket and turning fights into wild brawls, but those have been far and few between. Silva compares favorably to a far less polished Rafael dos Anjos. In his most recent fight with Jared Gordon, he spent most of the fight plodding forward and looked calm enough in the pocket to counter and block most of the American’s strikes while forcing him to the fence with his own. He even adopted the dos Anjos mustache, but despite the similarities, Silva has a long way to go if he wants to reach RDA’s level. In the future, it would benefit him to adopt some of dos Anjos’ techniques, like his ability to pressure counter.
Something else reminiscent of dos Anjos are his body shots, but again, he does not use them as much as he should. He also does not mix it up and is either only attacking the body or only attacking the head. If he can learn to mix in these body shots with his usual leading attacks, he would have much more success, especially against the cage when the opponent is flustered.
Silva throws lots of flying knees, but they are becoming more of detriment with each fight. He usually throws them with no setup or follow-up strikes, so the opponent can see them coming and counter or evade. He has had success throwing them as single strikes, but he needs to learn how to set them up or use them as a setup for his punches.
Silva is a black belt in jiu-jitsu and has three submission victories on his record, but he wants to keep the fight standing. He has been held down for long stretches a few times in his UFC career, but his takedown defense for the most part has held up, as he has defended 64 percent of takedowns through five fights.
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