Wallid Ismail: Erick Silva Suffered No Serious Injuries During UFC Fight Night 40 Main Event

No. 14-ranked UFC welterweight Erick Silva came out on the wrong end of a rousing war against Matt Brown in the main event of UFC Fight Night 40 last night (Sat., May 10, 2014) from the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

After rocking “The Immortal” with some absolutely vicious body shots in the first round, “Indio” went for an ill-fated choke on the ground that gave Brown an opportunity to recover and begin unleashing his trademark fast-paced Muay Thai.

Silva absorbed an ungodly amount of punishment. But somehow he wasn’t cut until the third round, when a Brown elbow opened him up just prior to referee Herb Dean calling off the fight towards the halfway point of the frame.

While Silva was unfortunately carted out of the Octagon on a stretcher after the fight, his manager, Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Wallid Ismail, told MMAFighting.com that Silva is indeed fine. The greater issue, according to Ismail, is the reason why Silva appeared gassed after a fast-paced first round:

“No fractures, nothing at all. Just got some stitches in the forehead, but the rest is fine. He walked out of the hospital on his own. He was just exhausted after the fight.

We don’t know what happened, we don’t know if it was the rear-naked choke attempt in the first round/ He’s really good, but something happened. We need to find out what’s the issue. His training camp was perfect, we have no excuses. He was great. He never cut weight that easily. I told him to never go for a rear-naked choke again.”

Silva came out guns blazing and had Brown in trouble, but couldn’t finish him off with the choke attempt. You certainly can’t blame him for trying, as nine of Brown’s 11 total losses have been by submission.

In the end, Silva just couldn’t keep pace with the frenetic striking of the surging Brown.

With a relatively pedestrian 4-4 record in UFC, Silva’s hype as an up-and-coming prospect is beginning to grow stale. He’s yet to win against a top-level opponent, and given the crowded state of the UFC welterweight division, he could easily get left behind in the near future.

Silva is no doubt a very tough competitor, but he has some serious work to do in terms of gameplanning and cardio. Can “Indio” rebound and deliver on his untapped potential?

Photo: Joseph Malorana for USA TODAY Sports