Erick Silva Discusses His Promotional Debut at LFA 45

Erick Silva will make his first post-UFC appearance tomorrow at LFA 45. Heading into the bout, he made one thing clear: he’s looking to finish.

Cabazon, California — It’s a new promotion, and a new home. But there’s no nerves for Erick Silva as he makes his promotional debut for Legacy Fighting Alliance on Friday. Silva spoke to Cageside Press ahead of LFA 45, where he’ll meet Nick Barnes in the main event. It’s Silva’s first fight back since his release from the UFC, and Siva (19–9 (1)) is happy to get going.

“I’m very happy. My job is [to] fight,” he told us ahead of his LFA 45 main event scrap. “Fight[ing] is my work, and it’s what I’m going to do tomorrow.”

His work indeed. He plied his trade in the UFC from 2011 to 2017. In that span, he faced some of the promotion’s best welterweights: Jon Fitch. Matt Brown. Neil Magny. Josh Koscheck. Silva picked up seven post-fight bonuses during his UFC tenure. Yet losses started to pile up, and he went 1-4 in his last five fights with the company.

Despite that, he feels no pressure to finish. “I [don’t] have any pressure, but this is going to happen, because it’s my style of fight,” he said. And he had a message for his followers as well. “I want to say to my fans: Erick Silva is back, with happiness, to doing what I love.”

“I’m very focused to end this fight before the three rounds,” he finished. “This is my style of fight, aggressive. I finish fights.”

LFA 45 takes place Friday, July 20 at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, California.