After UFC Fight Night 95 battle, a happy Erick Silva details key to success: taming the 'wild horse'

BRASILIA, Brazil – Coming off a two-fight skid, Erick Silva knew he had a lot at stake at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 95.

It wasn’t easy, but, after almost three rounds of intense back-and-forth, Silva (19-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) managed to choke out Luan Chagas (14-2-1 MMA, 0-1-1 UFC). The conquest came with some extra meaning: not only was it awarded “Fight of the Night,” but it was also Silva’s first octagon victory to come after the initial five minutes.

Speaking to reporters right after his triumph, Silva still didn’t know he’d gotten a bonus, but he did know the triumph had a special taste.

“The win was different than the ones I had before – when I either finished or knocked them out in the first round,” Silva said. “I was more strategic in this one, I tried to be. His hand did land and I had to come back to the second round still a little bit rocked, but I was able to keep it together and not bring out the ‘wild horse.’

“That’s something we talked about a lot during our camp – Erick, you have to keep the ‘wild horse’ at bay, you need to be more strategic. We’ll win it round by round. And I tried to do that.”

The ‘wild horse,’ Silva explained, was the expression chosen to designate his aggressive impulse to return hard blows immediately – something that he knew could’ve cost him the fight against a dangerous opponent.

That’s why, instead of succumbing to his initial instinct to go full force after being dropped in the first round, Silva chose to wait. His patience, of course, paid off, and Silva was able to capitalize on a failed takedown attempt to get to Chagas’ back and sink in a rear-naked choke.

“I was actually a bit surprised because, for all that we studied his game, he also studied mine and didn’t throw strikes that we thought he was going to,” Silva said. “But I knew at some point he’d expose a gap, and it happened at the right time. In the third round, if you look at it, I was landing many jabs, I felt he was very slow and if I had pressed him a bit more I could have maybe knocked him out.

“But I didn’t want to expose gaps that could have him hitting me. At some point he was going to open something, which is what happened – he was a little sloppy going for my legs and I was able to get to his back and get a finish.”

The welterweight bout was part of the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 95 event at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FS1.

“A good fighter is a happy fighter, and I’m very happy right now.”

Speaking to MMAjunkie on the Wednesday prior to his fight, Silva was all praise for his latest fight camp. After spending most of his career seeking optimum training conditions away from his hometown of Vila Velha, Espirito Santo, Silva decided to move back and build a new structure around him.

And, technical aspects aside, his move – or rather, return – had a deep emotional impact as well. Set on continuing the work started with his new coach Andre Benkei, Silva celebrates what he believes is a new stage of a so far inconsistent career.

“It’s a new phase,” Silva said. “Not that everything I lived in this octagon stayed behind, but I think it all served as experience so that this new Erick, in this new stage, could evolve a lot more. I still have a lot to show and evolve. I’m sure of it. This new team I’m at, in my hometown, near my son, my family, and the people I love– this is what’s making me happy.

“A good fighter is a happy fighter, and I’m very happy right now.”

While Silva’s aggression and finishing power were never called into question, his UFC career has been surrounded by criticism around his endurance. After all, prior to Chagas, every opponent who took Silva past the initial five minutes was able to come out victorious.

While Silva was never personally concerned with his cardio, he is glad he was able to show everyone else his gas tank is there. And now, eager to get right back into training, he wants to show his full potential.

This time, in his own terms.

“Right now, I’m very calm because of the camp I’ve had,” Silva said. “Of course I want to take my next few fights slow, so that the expectations that people create around me don’t happen. But I also can’t say that I’m going to pick fights, or my manager. I’m sure with the training I’ve had, the people in my camp now, I am sure I can evolve a lot. I still have a lot of time to evolve and go back to being an Erick that people can count on at the top-10.

“That’s what I’m looking for. I’m not looking to be an athlete who does easier fights. I want to be an athlete who grows with each fight and can go for the belt someday.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 95, check out the UFC Events section of the site.