Gabriel Silva ‘over’ debut jitters, bets on sub win against Phillips

Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

Bantamweight Gabriel Silva, younger brother of welterweight Erick Silva, looks back on his UFC debut and shares some insights on his upcoming fight in Virginia.

Bantamweight prospect Gabriel Silva is ready to show the UFC he means business after a disappointing Octagon debut in 2019. Bested via unanimous decision by Ray Borg back in July of last year, the brother of welterweight veteran Erick Silva doesn’t regret taking a former title challenger in his first bout under the UFC banner—although he does believe he felt the pressure of the dreaded Octagon jitters, now that he has had the time to analyze the experience better.

In an interview with Bloody Elbow, Silva explains he’s now over that anxiety. He’s expecting to be more like the undefeated 7-0 fighter the UFC signed originally when he takes on Kyler Phillips at UFC Norfolk, two weeks from now.

“Having my debut against Ray Borg was really good,” Silva explained. “I was happy to get such a challenge right off the bat in my debut, against someone as good as Ray Borg. He’s a top contender at flyweight. He’s really tough, so if they gave me someone that tough, it means they see something in me, too, so I need to show my worth.”

“Although I didn’t win, it was a learning experience,” he continued. “I think it was a great, close fight. But, now that I’m over those debut jitters – which do add to the pressure of being out there, and get to you – I think I’ll be more at ease for this second fight. Looking back, I still don’t think I should’ve had a debut against a less experienced fighter, I think things should happen the way they do. If I had to face Ray Borg right away, it must have been for a reason that we will only find out in the future.”

Now, Silva will be the one with more experience under the limelight, when he takes on UFC newcomer Kyler Phillips. But, ‘Gabito’ doesn’t think his opponent will feel the jitters just like he did, because Phillips already has some Octagon time from The Ultimate Fighter 27 and Dana White’s Contender Series. Nonetheless, the Brazilian still believes he will able to take Kyler down and work his way to a submission victory.

“It might be Kyler’s UFC debut, but he has already been on TUF and Contender Series, so he’s already used to this environment,” Silva said. “I watched everything I could find about him. I studied him very well. Even though he’s a striker, his fights usually go to the ground. He enjoys a scramble, so he might be a little annoying to deal with. I studied him in order to come up with some defense for his attacks.”

“I think I’m ready for the fight. I’ll know what to do wherever the fight goes. My goal is to win, but I’ll try to close the distance, take him down, work my jiu-jitsu and look for the submission, which is my style. If I must predict a method, I’ll bet on a win by submission.”

UFC Fight Night 169 takes place on February 29th, in Norfolk, Virginia. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a title fight for the vacant flyweight belt, between top contenders Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo.