Joaquim Silva is targeting the December fight after returning to the winning track with a fierce decision over Claudio Puellales at Noche UFC in San Antonio, but if the opportunity is too good, the November turnover is fine.
And earlier, the man standing on the other side of the cage is Charles Oliveira.
“Netto BJJ” took Puerel late to secure a Texas nod and was pleased with his overall performance, raising his hand while watching the promotional scramble to find a name to replace Rafael Fizeiev with “Do Bronx” against “Do Bronx” this time at the main event at UFC Rio on October 11th.
“To be honest, I’m ready,” Silva said he could face Oliveira in Brazil. “It’s a great opportunity, so we fight. Charles is everyone’s idol, but this is our job. I need to work. He needs to work. If this opportunity was presented to me, I already told my manager that I was preparing him. de Janeiro.
Silva is not the first American top team athlete to volunteer for this task. Fellows Lenato Moicano and Mateus Gamlott have been campaigning at the main event spot for the past few days, with Silva talking to Gamlott of Florida on Monday.
“He’s hungry for that,” Silva said. “He’s an athlete, he’s always ready to fight and always wants to fight. I think he might go on this fight after being ranked. But I don’t know if it’s interesting for Charles because Charles was training for a striker. Gamlot has another game. But it was more wrestling and grappling than MMA.”
“Netto BJJ” acknowledges support for Oliveira in a potential conflict with Gamrot and explains why.
“Charles is like a finisher. It’s dangerous on the ground,” Silva said. “And there’s also the camp factor. Once you prepare for a three-month battle, your body is sure it’s better to go at a higher pace for three rounds. It’s easy to get a victory. It’s very complicated to fight in a short period of time. (UFC) It’s difficult to choose history, but I’ll bet on Charles.”