Jean Silva Wants Alexander Volkanovski vs Movsar Evloev Winner and Praises Noche UFC Opponent for Short-Notice Bout

Featherweight contender Jean Silva rebounded from last year's Noche UFC disappointment to submit his opponent in stellar fashion.

Jean Silva Wants Alexander Volkanovski vs Movsar Evloev Winner and Praises Noche UFC Opponent for Short-Notice Bout

Jean Silva calls out the winner of UFC 333 main event after Noche UFC (Image via UFC X account)

The fourth annual Noche UFC event commemorating Mexico’s independence day featured Jean Silva and Jose Miguel Delgado in the main event. The Brazilian contender secured a submission win after starting slowly against his opponent.

After making his main roster debut in 2024, Silva now has 7 wins and 1 loss in his UFC run. Considering the lack of top contenders in the featherweight division, Silva can get the next title shot after Alexander Volkanovski defends his belt against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333.

To that end, the Brazilian contender told Daniel Cormier in his octagon interview about wanting to face the winner of UFC 333 main event.

Whoever holds that belt, the next champion is right here. There’s a new champion in town.

Jean Silva via Noche UFC octagon interview

Initially, ‘Lord Silva’ was supposed to face Yair Rodriguez in the main event. However, the former interim featherweight champion pulled out due to injury and Delgado took the fight on short-notice.

Silva’s weigh-in antics and barking didn’t scare Delgado at all. In fact, the Arizona native showed no fear and fired back during the build-up to the fight.

It took until the third round for Silva to put Delgado away. Delgado started well and won the first round. However, Silva is known for starting slow before finding his rhythm.

Soon, the Brazilian started landing shots and ultimately secured a submission in the third round. After the bout, Silva praised Delgado for showing up and being confident.

Even though Delgado talked a lot, I said multiple times that I hoped the UFC took care of him for taking this fight and letting us give the fans the show they wanted. There’s nothing wrong with being confident and speaking it into existence. I love the attitude.

Jean Silva via X

This victory was much needed for Silva after getting knocked out by Diego Lopes last year at Noche UFC. The Brazilian was on the cusp of a title shot last year, but the loss to Lopes cut his momentum.

Even last year, Silva started slow and suffered a beatdown in the first round. By the second round, the Brazilian started landing shots to gain momentum. However, Lopes landed a spinning back-elbow to get the TKO win in the second round.

With momentum back on his side, the promotion will likely consider the Fighting Nerds member for the next title shot. However, one featherweight contender doesn’t want Silva to fight for the title next and offered to fight the Brazilian with the No. 1 contender status on the line.

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Aljamain Sterling calls out Jean Silva to a No. 1 contender bout

Not many fighters come close to becoming a champion in two separate divisions. Aljamain Sterling is someone who can achieve the double champion status if things go his way. After losing his bantamweight title at UFC 292, Sterling moved up to the featherweight division.

Jean Silva called out by Aljamain Sterling
Jean Silva called out by Aljamain Sterling (Image via UFC.com)

‘Funk Master’ dominated Calvin Kattar in his featherweight debut before losing a closely contested bout against Evloev. Since then, he has grabbed two more victories in the division and has teased a title fight multiple times.

At the moment, the promotion is not going to give Sterling a title shot as he hasn’t faced top competition yet. If Sterling can somehow defeat Jean Silva, then the UFC cannot deny him a title shot. To that end, Sterling called out the Brazilian to fight in MSG two months later.

Silva has already fought twice this year. In January, he battled Arnold Allen in a three-round thriller. Meanwhile, Sterling has only fought once, which came against Youssef Zalal back in April.

After calling his shot at the title, it remains to be seen if Silva will accept a No. 1 contender’s bout against Sterling.

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