Matchup Spotlight | Van vs Silva

Bruno Silva is 4-1 in his last five and has ended the fight early in every single one of those wins.The only blemish in that stretch is a finish at the hands of Manel Kape, who is fighting in what seems to be a title eliminator himself against Brandon Royval at UFC 317. Silva is a very fun fighter who can finish the fight at any moment.

When looking at active flyweights, Silva holds some impressive records. He is ranked 4th in finishes, 3rd in KO/TKO wins, 5th in total fight night bonuses, 5th shortest fight time, 8th shortest bottom position time, 3rd in knockdowns landed, 1st in knockdown average per 15 minutes, 5th in significant strike accuracy, and was on a four-fight win streak that had him ranked 4th before losing to Kape.

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All of this is to say that Silva is a bad man. Bad in the sense that he is so dangerous that the pressure and difficulty he will put on Van will be a true test. This can be a strikers’ fight, and Silva is not shy to throw everything he has behind his hands. Athlete records may paint a different story, but the fight game is all about momentum. Silva only has that one loss last time out, but before that he was soaring, with four in a row, all by finish. 

This brings Silva into this bout against an up-and-coming Van, where both will immediately meet in the center of the Octagon and throw down.

Joshua Van’s Starry Fight

Van is one of the more exciting prospects in the UFC, and more specifically, the flyweight division. There has not been a single Van fight that has disappointed, and his last time out against Rei Tsuruya was exactly that. Van put on a pace that Tsuruya just could not recover from, and he walked away with the win just three months ago.

So far in the UFC, Van is 6-1, with the only loss coming to previously ranked Charles Johnson. Van has been nothing short of dominant during his UFC career thus far, and this fight has the power to thrust him onto everyone’s radar.

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When looking at records for active flyweights, Joshua Van is everywhere. The most impressive must be that he is ranked 1st for strikes landed per minute at 8.1! The next closest is at 5.04 and subsequently he is also first for striking differential. A pure striker and one that is leading by example is Van. He is also ranked 4th for active flyweights in bottom position percentage, which is significantly lower than the champion Pantoja, who is ranked 10th!

Van met a sturdy test in Tsuruya, who wanted to wrestle and take Van down, but Van’s quick scrambles and defense stuffed 17 of 21 takedown attempts. This is the adaptation that is being shown by Van on a continual basis, and if he can improve his striking as he seemingly has with his takedown defense, it will be very interesting to see how he fares against the rest of the division. 

When An Unstoppable Force Meets An Immovable Object

Both fighters exhibit excellent striking, but Silva is more apt to finish the fight compared to Van. While both men hold active flyweight records, it would be interesting to see Silva test Van’s takedown defense and make the fight ugly. If Silva does not utilize this, Van can stay in his preferred area, which is “The Van Void.” This is the area where Van can hit you, but you can’t hit him, essentially in the range that he creates.

Most of Van’s fights end in decision with a lot of inflicted damage, but Silva can find a path to victory with dirty boxing and picking his shots very selectively. If Silva can land heavy punches while trying to get Van out of the fight, he may find success very early. Silva needs to ensure that he is not overextending and catching himself whiffing.

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With Van being very good in the boxing range, he must establish the distance early. Van must utilize a stiff jab to dictate the fight. The more this fight gets ugly, the worse it will be for Van. It may be to Van’s benefit that Silva is coming off a KO loss, as he can continually test the chin with multiple shots. Van’s path to victory lies within the range and making the fight aesthetically pleasing. This means long shots and unrivaled footwork that will make it a nightmare for Silva to catch him. 

Regardless of the winner, both fighters will look to use their star power to continue rising in the ever-changing flyweight division. With a win, either fighter can look to face Top 10 competition next and potentially only be one or two fights away from a title shot. To say this fight has a lot of sway in the future of the flyweight division is an understatement, but what is true is that no one should miss this fight come Saturday night.