Maybe the alleged near-brawl between Diego Lopes and Jean Silva’s teams wasn’t so near after all, at least according to recent footage that surfaced.
On Tuesday, speaking with MMA Junkie, Silva (16-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) said his team almost got into a fight with Lopes (26-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and his team at the host hotel for the fighters competing Saturday at Noche UFC from Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. It wasn’t a far-fetched idea, given the not so friendly build-up between the two, with Silva mainly poking at Lopes before their five-round featherweight headliner.
However, when MMA Junkie reached out to Lopes to get his side of the story, Lopes pointed to his video blog, which captured their encounter. Things were certainly tense between the two sides, but it never really came close to getting physical.
Silva is seen complimenting Lopes on his mustache, to which Lopes replied, “Oh, you like it?”
You can view their run-in below:
Lopes and Silva both fought on the same card in April at UFC 314 in Miami.
Lopes competed in the main event, falling short in a unanimous decision against Alexander Voplkanovski for the vacant featherweight title. The loss snapped a five-fight winning streak that turned Lopes from a UFC newcomer to a contender and one of the biggest stars in the division.
Meanwhile, Silva secured the biggest win of his career, submitting contender Bryce Mitchell on the main card. Silva is now on an impressive 13-fight winning streak, with five of those victories coming in the UFC. Silva’s last career defeat took place in 2018 in the regional circuit of Brazil.
