1. Overview
Erick Silva (born June 21, 1984), also known by his full name Erick Vinicius Silva and nicknames "The Tiger" and "Índio" (ÍndioPortuguese), is a Brazilian former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. He competed primarily in the welterweight division. Throughout his professional career, which spanned from 2005 to 2019, Silva notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, and Jungle Fight, where he became the inaugural welterweight champion. He is also the older brother of former UFC bantamweight fighter Gabriel Silva. Silva stands at 71 in (180 cm) tall, weighs 170 lb (77 kg), and has a reach of 74 in (188 cm).
2. Early Life and Career Background
Erick Silva was born on June 21, 1984, in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil. His early life was deeply connected to martial arts, beginning his training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2000 under the guidance of Rodrigo Dam at the Alliance Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Silva achieved significant success in Jiu-Jitsu, becoming a state champion, and later earned black belts in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. Early in his career, he trained at X-Gym, a renowned gym where he was a training partner to prominent fighters such as Anderson Silva, Rafael Cavalcante, and Ronaldo Souza. His career was managed by Walid Ismail.
3. Mixed Martial Arts Career
Erick Silva's professional mixed martial arts career began in 2005 and saw him compete in various major promotions, securing a championship title and notable victories.
3.1. Early Career and Jungle Fight
Silva started his professional MMA journey with several victories in different promotions before joining Jungle Fight, a prominent Brazilian MMA organization. He made his debut at Jungle Fight 9 on May 31, 2008, facing Carlos Eduardo dos Santos, whom he defeated via rear-naked choke in the third and final round. At Jungle Fight 11 on September 13, 2008, he secured a unanimous decision victory over Igor Fernandes, followed by two more wins in the promotion, against Carlos Villamor on May 9, 2009, and Jorge Luis Bezerra on September 19, 2009.
A notable and unique fight in his early career occurred at Jungle Fight 17, an outdoor event held in Vila Velha on February 27, 2010. The event, which took place under continuous rain, resulted in a no-contest verdict for Silva's fight against Henrique Oliveira after Silva landed an illegal knee on his downed opponent in the second round. Despite this setback, Silva went on to win his next fight at Jungle Fight 21 on July 31, 2010, defeating Jose de Ribamar via TKO (knee and punches) in the second round.
Silva's ascent in Jungle Fight culminated in the tournament for the inaugural Jungle Fight Welterweight Championship at Jungle Fight 23, held on October 30, 2010. He fought and won both of his matches on the same night. In the semifinal, he faced Gil de Freitas. Silva dominated the first round with his striking, but de Freitas responded strongly in the second with takedowns and ground control. In the final round, Silva dropped de Freitas with a roundhouse kick to the liver, then followed up with ground-and-pound before securing a guillotine choke, forcing de Freitas to submit. In the tournament final, Silva faced Francisco Ayon, who had just won a split decision in his semifinal bout. Silva quickly took Ayon down, landed several punches, and then locked in an arm-triangle choke, forcing the tap out just 67 seconds into the first round. With this victory, Erick Silva was crowned the inaugural Jungle Fight Welterweight Champion.
3.2. Ultimate Fighting Championship
Erick Silva signed with the UFC in early 2011, making his debut at UFC 134 on August 27, 2011. He was initially scheduled to fight Mike Swick, but Swick withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Luis Ramos. Silva quickly defeated Ramos via TKO due to punches in the first round.
His next fight at UFC 142 on January 14, 2012, against Carlo Prater resulted in a controversial disqualification loss. After knocking Prater down with a knee and following up with hammer fists and punches, referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight, disqualifying Silva for alleged strikes to the back of the head. Replays suggested that most of Silva's strikes were not to the back of the head, and Yamasaki later admitted his decision was an error. The UFC, however, upheld the disqualification.
Silva rebounded at UFC on FX 3 on June 8, 2012, defeating Charlie Brenneman with a rear-naked choke in the first round, earning him a Submission of the Night bonus. On October 13, 2012, at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Silva faced Jon Fitch, losing by unanimous decision after three rounds. Their performance, however, earned both fighters Fight of the Night honors.
After an injury forced him out of a scheduled bout against Jay Hieron at UFC 156, Silva faced Jason High at UFC on Fuel TV 10 on June 8, 2013, after High replaced John Hathaway. Silva won the fight with a triangle armbar submission in the first round, which earned him his second Submission of the Night bonus. Later that year, on October 9, 2013, Silva suffered a second-round knockout loss to Dong Hyun Kim at UFC Fight Night 29.
On February 15, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 36, Silva was scheduled to fight Nate Loughran, but Loughran pulled out due to injury. Silva then faced promotional newcomer Takenori Sato, defeating him via TKO early in the first round. This victory also earned Silva one of the UFC's first Performance of the Night bonus awards. Silva's next fight was a main event bout against Matt Brown at UFC Fight Night 40 on May 10, 2014. Despite losing the fight via TKO in the third round, both participants received Fight of the Night honors, with Silva's performance also earning him a Fight of the Month award for May 2014 from MMAJunkie.com.
Silva returned to the Octagon on December 20, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 58 against Mike Rhodes. He secured a first-round technical submission victory via arm-triangle choke, earning his second Performance of the Night bonus award. On March 21, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 62, Silva was set to face Ben Saunders, but Saunders was replaced by Josh Koscheck due to injury. Silva won the fight by guillotine choke submission in the first round.
A rescheduled bout against Rick Story was expected for UFC Fight Night 74 on August 23, 2015, but Story withdrew due to injury. Silva then faced Neil Magny and lost the fight via split decision.
A controversial moment in Silva's UFC career occurred on March 5, 2016, at UFC 196 against Nordine Taleb. During the opening round, Silva extended his fist for a glove touch as a gesture of sportsmanship, but immediately landed a right hook as Taleb attempted to reciprocate. Taleb criticized the move as "dirty" in a post-fight interview, stating he knew Silva was a "dirty" fighter. Silva faced heavy criticism from fans and media alike for the "unethical" punch and later issued an apology on his Twitter account, admitting the move was unethical. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round.
Following this loss, Silva established his own fight team, Tiger's Den MMA, to be closer to his son, Kalleu, and brought in Andre Benkei as his head coach. He then faced Luan Chagas at UFC Fight Night 95 on September 24, 2016. Despite a back-and-forth battle with moments of peril for Silva, he secured a submission victory via rear-naked choke in the third round, earning both fighters Fight of the Night honors.
Silva's final two UFC fights were losses: a second-round TKO loss to Yancy Medeiros at UFC 212 on June 3, 2017, and a unanimous decision loss to Jordan Mein at UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos on December 16, 2017. The fight against Mein marked the end of his contract with the UFC.
3.3. Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA)
After his departure from the UFC, Erick Silva signed with Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA). He made his LFA debut in the main event of LFA 45 on July 20, 2018, against Nick Barnes. Silva won the fight via armbar submission in the first round.
3.4. Bellator MMA
On September 6, 2018, it was announced that Erick Silva had signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA. He was initially scheduled to make his promotional debut against Lorenz Larkin at Bellator 207, but was forced to withdraw on October 1, 2018, due to an injury.
Silva eventually made his Bellator debut against undefeated Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 216 on February 16, 2019, losing the fight via unanimous decision. His final professional MMA fight took place on June 22, 2019, at Bellator 223, where he faced Paul Daley and lost by unanimous decision.
4. Retirement
Erick Silva announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in 2022. The decision was primarily driven by significant health issues he experienced, specifically a heart attack that resulted from complications due to COVID-19. He cited the heart attack as the "decisive point" in his decision to end his fighting career.
5. Personal Life
Erick Silva is married to Isabela, and together they have two sons, one of whom is named Kalleu. His family has been publicly noted, including an instance where his entire family was infected with COVID-19 in Brazil.
6. Championships and Accomplishments
Erick Silva accumulated several significant titles and honors throughout his mixed martial arts career.
6.1. Titles
- Jungle Fight Championship
- Inaugural Jungle Fight Welterweight Champion (2010)
- Jungle Fight Welterweight Tournament Champion (2010)
6.2. Awards and Honors
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Jon Fitch, Matt Brown, and Luan Chagas
- Submission of the Night (Two times) vs. Charlie Brenneman and Jason High
- Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Takenori Sato and Mike Rhodes
- MMAJunkie.com
- 2014 May Fight of the Month vs. Matt Brown
- Sherdog
- 2012 Robbery of the Year (referring to his disqualification loss at UFC 142)
- 2014 Round of the Year
7. Mixed Martial Arts Record
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 20-11 (1) | Paul Daley | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 223 | June 22, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | |
| Loss | 20-10 (1) | Yaroslav Amosov | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 216 | February 16, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 20-9 (1) | Nick Barnes | Submission (armbar) | LFA 45 | July 20, 2018 | 1 | 4:43 | Cabazon, California, United States | |
| Loss | 19-9 (1) | Jordan Mein | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos | December 16, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Loss | 19-8 (1) | Yancy Medeiros | TKO (punches) | UFC 212 | June 3, 2017 | 2 | 2:01 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 19-7 (1) | Luan Chagas | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Länsberg | September 24, 2016 | 3 | 3:57 | Brasília, Brazil | Fight of the Night. |
| Loss | 18-7 (1) | Nordine Taleb | KO (punch) | UFC 196 | March 5, 2016 | 2 | 1:34 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 18-6 (1) | Neil Magny | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Oliveira | August 23, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada | |
| Win | 18-5 (1) | Josh Koscheck | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare | March 21, 2015 | 1 | 4:21 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 17-5 (1) | Mike Rhodes | Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway | December 20, 2014 | 1 | 1:15 | Barueri, Brazil | Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 16-5 (1) | Matt Brown | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva | May 10, 2014 | 3 | 2:11 | Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 16-4 (1) | Takenori Sato | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi | February 15, 2014 | 1 | 0:52 | Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil | Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 15-4 (1) | Dong Hyun Kim | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields | October 9, 2013 | 2 | 3:01 | Barueri, Brazil | |
| Win | 15-3 (1) | Jason High | Submission (reverse triangle armbar) | UFC on Fuel TV: Nogueira vs. Werdum | June 8, 2013 | 1 | 1:11 | Fortaleza, Brazil | Submission of the Night. |
| Loss | 14-3 (1) | Jon Fitch | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 153 | October 13, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 14-2 (1) | Charlie Brenneman | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC on FX: Johnson vs. McCall | June 8, 2012 | 1 | 4:33 | Sunrise, Florida, United States | Submission of the Night. |
| Loss | 13-2 (1) | Carlo Prater | DQ (punches to back of head) | UFC 142 | January 14, 2012 | 1 | 0:29 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 13-1 (1) | Luis Ramos | TKO (punches) | UFC 134 | August 27, 2011 | 1 | 0:40 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 12-1 (1) | Francisco Ayon | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Jungle Fight 23 | October 30, 2010 | 1 | 1:07 | Belém, Brazil | Won the inaugural Jungle Fight Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 11-1 (1) | Gil de Freitas | Submission (guillotine choke) | Jungle Fight 23 | October 30, 2010 | 3 | 0:57 | Belém, Brazil | Jungle Fight Welterweight Championship Tournament Semifinal. |
| Win | 10-1 (1) | Jose de Ribamar | TKO (knee and punches) | Jungle Fight 21 | July 31, 2010 | 2 | 3:39 | Natal, Brazil | |
| NC | 9-1 (1) | Henrique Oliveira | NC (illegal knee) | Jungle Fight 17: Vila Velha | February 27, 2010 | 2 | 3:57 | Vila Velha, Brazil | Welterweight debut. |
| Win | 9-1 | Jorge Luis Bezerra | Decision (unanimous) | Jungle Fight 15 | September 19, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | São Paulo, Brazil | |
| Win | 8-1 | Carlos Villamor | Submission (kneebar) | Jungle Fight 14: Ceará | May 9, 2009 | 2 | 3:38 | Fortaleza, Brazil | |
| Win | 7-1 | Igor Fernandes | Decision (unanimous) | Jungle Fight 11 | September 13, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 6-1 | Carlos Eduardo Santos | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Jungle Fight 9: Warriors | May 31, 2008 | 3 | N/A | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 5-1 | Fabio Issa | Decision (unanimous) | Open Fight | August 4, 2007 | N/A | N/A | Brazil | |
| Loss | 4-1 | Mario Neto | Decision (unanimous) | Superfight Vitoria | December 10, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Brazil | |
| Win | 4-0 | Leandro Zumbi | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | MMA: Kombat Espirito Santo | November 25, 2006 | 1 | 3:05 | Vila Velha, Brazil | |
| Win | 3-0 | Henrique Lango | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Guarafight 3 | August 12, 2006 | 1 | N/A | Guarapari, Brazil | |
| Win | 2-0 | Julian Soares | KO (punch) | Guarafight 2 | January 7, 2006 | 1 | 2:30 | Guarapari, Brazil | |
| Win | 1-0 | Fabiano Mastodonte | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Guarafight 1 | June 4, 2005 | 1 | 2:02 | Guarapari, Brazil |