Expat Claudio Henrique da Silva motivated by family in Brazil for UFC debut

LONDON – Claudio Henrique da Silva will be in a unique situation tonight in London.

He’s Brazilian, but for years now, he’s called England home while he trains with the esteemed London Shootfighters. The dual status led him to an unofficial nickname for himself: “Britishzilian,” which is a far cry from the “Hannibal” nickname he walks out to (along with a Hannibal Lecter mask).

“I love jacket potatoes, I love a cup of tea, fish and chips after the weigh-in,” da Silva told MMAjunkie. “I never saw myself living in London, but it’s my second home now.”

On Saturday, it may be Brad Scott (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) who gets the big pop from the crowd at O2 Arena, where UFC Fight Night 37 takes place. He’s England-born, after all. But da Silva (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who makes his UFC debut against Scott on the preliminary card, which streams on UFC Fight Pass, will make his walk to the cage hoping for a little bit of love from the fans, too.

It’s a longstanding dream for da Silva to be in the UFC, and one he thought not long ago was on hold when he didn’t pass muster to get on the B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar-coached season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

“I passed all the tests, but didn’t get chosen at the end,” da Silva said. “I was a little hurt. I kept thinking I would never get to fight in the UFC. After I made an appearance at Super Fight League, I was nursing an injured arm while still under contract with them. That’s when my manager called. He said I didn’t get chosen for ‘TUF.’ That’s when I told him that my goal was to fight in the UFC, no matter what. A few weeks later, we received the contract.”

Da Silva having his home base in London, where the show takes place, certainly helped. But he wants to believe that the UFC didn’t just throw him in against Scott because of some geographical need.

“For sure, living in London and speaking English helped a lot,” he said. “Not that I got here the easy way. My opponents were all very tough and had long fighting records with mostly wins. I didn’t build up my record by crushing tomato cans, as a lot of fighters do. I even fought three times on the same night.”

Da Silva lost his pro debut in 2007. But since then, it’s been all on the plus side with nine straight wins. All of them came by stoppage until a unanimous decision over UFC vet Xavier Foupa-Pokam in October 2012, the aforementioned Super Fight League victory.

That was da Silva’s most recent trip to the cage. An elbow injury kept him sidelined after the win over Foupa-Pokam. But now, along with the motivation of seeing his dream come to fruition with a win in the UFC, he’s also fighting for his children, who are back in Brazil.

“I live in England by myself,” he said. “My mother is back in Brazil as are my children. They’re 10, 9 and 6. My girlfriend was with me for a while, but she had to travel back to Brazil to finish college. I visit Brazil twice every year. Sometimes I’m discouraged being on my own, but I’m inspired by my wish to bring them to England so they can study here. Everything I do is for their future.”

That could get a big kick start with a win in the UFC, where the paydays go up and the possibility of $50,000 bonuses lurk just around the corner.

And while da Silva plans to drop to welterweight after his UFC debut, what he’s worried about right now isn’t that extra 15 pounds or the thought of a bonus. He’s just thinking about the middleweight across from him, Scott.

“It will be a good fight,” da Silva said. “Brad likes to move forward. He’s a proven warrior. He made it to the ‘TUF’ finale, and he’s had two UFC fights already. He’s highly motivated. That’s the kind of guy I like to face, though it doesn’t matter who’s across from me and that their credentials might be. I’m going there to win, which is what I always do.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 37, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.