A decade after moving to the United States seeking a better future as MMA fighter, Bruno Silva flew back to his native Piracicaba, Brazil, to prepare for his UFC 316 clash with Joshua Van on June 7.
“Bulldog” spent years of his life as a teammate and key training partner of Henry Cejudo in Arizona and did his most recent training camp at American Top Team. Stopped by Manel Kape in December 2024, which snapped a four-fight bonus streak with four knockouts, the flyweight veteran decided to leave Florida for a breathe of fresh air in the small town 100 miles outside Sao Paulo.
“I’m single and was pretty much by myself there,” Silva told MMA Fighting. “I was staying at American Top Team for six of seven months, and it’s good that you’re in the gym, but you’re confined there, you don’t leave the gym, and I was kind of sad there, you know? And here I have good gyms in my hometown, I have physical therapy. I’m the only UFC guy here, I know good fighters in the area, so I decided to come and be at my parents’ house, be close to the family this time. To be happier.”
As a rising prospect, it made sense to live inside a gym and focus entirely on making it as a professional athlete. At 35 years of age, and having fought eight times under the UFC banner plus $200,000 pocketed in performance bonuses and fight purses, Silva felt it was time for a change.
Silva has lived inside Team Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro, at Cejudo’s house in Arizona, at Pitbull Brothers in Natal, and Florida’s American Top Team. He doesn’t rule out going back to Arizona after UFC 316 to train with Henry’s brother Angel Cejudo. For now, however, he celebrates being under his parents’ wings like the old days.
“I’ve done this for a long time in my life,” Silva said. “I was feeling down these last few years so I decided to be closer to family now. Time doesn’t come back. We can win money back, but not time.”
The Van clash was originally planned for UFC 313 on March 8, but the Brazilian opted to withdraw from the card due to an accumulation of injuries to his ribs, hand and arm that led to him not training properly for combat. Van won a decision over his replacement Rei Tsuruya to improve his winning streak to three, and they will finally collide Saturday in Newark.
“It’s a good fight,” Silva said. “He’s very tough, he’s growing in the division, and he’s very young. It’s a good match-up for me, you know? I’m ranked for many years now so nothing is new for me. I’m already used to all this. Training with Cejudo for so many years, and then all those badasses at American Top Team, nothing is different from what I’m used to dealing with. Bring it on.”
Silva laments the fact he was overconfident in his striking ahead of the Kape bout after four knockouts in a row, and gives props to Kape for “his best performance yet” in the UFC. After learning from his mistakes, “Bulldog” said he’s “healthy and happy” to chase another knockout and another $50,000 bonus in the promotion to get him back on the race for a shot at the belt.
“We always want fights that match up well with our styles but I have no name in mind yet,” Silva said of who’s next after a win at UFC 316. “We want to fight the best. Who knows, maybe Brandon Royval after he fights Kape now? That would be a good name for me. Of Tim Elliott, who’s a bit older and is fighting [Kai] Asakura now. All of them would be good fights for me.”
