Danny Silva Has A Point To Prove

Once Silva made the decision to pursue fighting as a career, the next mentor to step into his life was Cub Swanson.

A pioneer for the lighter weight classes that remains one of the last WEC fighters on the active UFC roster, the UFC Hall of Fame inductee serves as both coach and manager for Silva, but his influence extends well beyond that.

READ: Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Borralho

Throughout his career, Swanson has made a point of bringing others along with him whenever he’s gone to compete, eager to show the up-and-coming set or others that haven’t yet experienced a UFC Fight Week what it’s like to compete on the biggest stage in the sport. It’s a way of giving younger fighters a glimpse of what they’re chasing and helping them familiarize themselves with everything the experience entails so that when the time comes that they’re the ones readying to make the walk on Saturday evening, they’re not overwhelmed by the moment.

“From my perspective, it really has helped me out in my journey, being guided by him, taking in all the information that he gives me, and preparing me all the time, step-by-step,” Silva said of Swanson’s leadership and guidance. “No matter where I’m at in my career, he always has answers for me.

“As a coach and as a mentor — and even with him still currently being a fighter — I can get every aspect of the game from him.

“It helps me out a lot,” he added in regard to traveling with the team to their fights. “It makes me feel like I’m in the right circle. My goal was always to get into the UFC, to prove how good of a fighter I am, see where I’m at, so being around them is a big stamp that this is where I belong, this is the stuff I need to be doing.

RELATED: Fighters On The Rise

“It helps me feel comfortable (now that) I’m at this stage.”

Silva earned his place on the UFC roster last September with a hard-fought decision win over Angel Pacheco on Dana White’s Contender Series, collecting 30-27 scores across the board in a fight that was all-action the whole way through.

A little less than six months later, he made his first trek to the Octagon, facing off with Australian veteran Josh Culibao in mid-March, back at the UFC APEX.

Though he claimed a split decision win to push his record to 9-1 overall, Silva wasn’t overly happy with his performance throughout the week after having missed weight on Friday morning before battling through the ultra-competitive fight with Culibao the following evening.

“I was a little bit hard on myself; I wanted to have a better performance,” said Silva, now a few months removed from the moment and able to give himself a little more grace. “I think I’m trying to realize that it was my debut and give myself a little slack because he is a guy that would be considered a veteran in the UFC — he has six or seven fights in the UFC. But I’m not trying to keep myself content with little accomplishments; I want to keep striving for more.”

When I tell him that he performed well, and did so against someone that has faced quality competition, the Bloodline Combat Sports representative was quick to snap out the kind of counter that underscores why many are high on him as a prospect as he readies for his sophomore appearance inside the Octagon this weekend.

“I’ve been training with some of the best fighters in the world since I was young, so I was supposed to do what I was supposed to do,” he said, continuing to hold himself to a high standard and push himself to be great.

That striving prompted a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico alongside his teammate and training partner Dan Argueta prior to this weekend’s fight.

“I’m just trying to better my skills elsewhere, from Coach Wink and Greg,” began Silva, explaining the decision to complete some of his camp away from home. “I just want to be in altitude, be away from my girlfriend, my family; isolate myself and get ready.

“I know that Dennis Buzukja is probably training really hard and feels like he needs to prove a point, so it makes him a little more dangerous than Josh Culibao, (which means) I have to step it up even more; really go out there and make a statement.”

The matchup with Buzukja is an interesting one as the LAW MMA man is both less experienced and less accomplished at the UFC level than Culibao, having just registered his first win in three starts earlier this year.

Admittedly a little surprised by the pairing, Silva sees this weekend’s matchup as a chance to further show the level he is at and cement his position in the featherweight ranks in expedient fashion.

“I was a little more nervous from Josh Culibao when they offered him to me, but that nervousness excited me,” began Silva. “With Dennis, it’s not that I wasn’t nervous, it’s more where he’s at in his career. What is he 1-2 in the UFC right now?

“I feel like he’s trying to put himself back in there, really prove to the world that he can hang with better fighters. For me, I’m trying to prove I am a better fighter and I belong (in there) with better fighters than him.

“I’m trying to prove something, and he’s trying to prove something, and that makes me nervous,” he added. “I’m trying to do anything that it takes to go out there and make my point.”

And after being disappointed with his performance in his debut in March, “El Puma” is only going to be satisfied with his sophomore effort if he goes out there and does exactly what he’s been picturing throughout camp on Saturday night.

“I really wanna break him,” he said emphatically. “I don’t want this to go to a decision. I’m ready for it, but I really want to go in there and finish him.

“I’ve dropped my last two opponents and haven’t gotten a finish — that’s something that has been bugging me, and I wanna go out there and finish Dennis Buzukja.”