Former UFC welterweight Erick Silva has found a new home, as the Brazilian has signed an exclusive deal with Bellator MMA.
Former UFC standout Erick Silva is back in the big leagues. After parting ways with the UFC following the final fight of his contract in December 2017, Silva made a single appearance for LFA. A win there against Nick Barnes saw Silva snap a two-fight losing skid. Now, with his stock again on the rise, Silva has signed an exclusive, multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA.
The welterweight announced the news on social media on Thursday.
É isso aí pessoal! Agora é oficial. Contrato assinado com @bellatormma 👊🏻. O céu é o limite…👆
.
.
.#belatorr #mma #likeatiger #mmafighter #lovetheprocess https://t.co/c6fH4wWWwh— Erick Silva (@ErickSilvaMMA) September 6, 2018
“That’s it, people! It’s official now. Contract signed with @bellatormma 👊🏻. The sky is the limit,” Silva wrote on his official twitter account.
Silva (20–9 (1)) signed with the UFC in 2011 on the strength of a 12-1 (1NC) run that saw him claim the Jungle Fights welterweight title. He’d win his UFC debut against Luis Ramos at UFC 134, a knockout win that immediately put the Brazilian on the map. However, he struggled to find the same sort of consistency in the UFC as he had prior to joining the promotion. He traded wins and losses across the first eight fights of his UFC tenure, with his only winning streak being back-to-back wins over Mike Rhodes and Josh Koscheck in 2014-2015. In his final five UFC appearances, Silva went 1-4.
An arm-bar finish against Nick Barnes at LFA 45, however, saw Silva back in the spotlight again. He’s apparently turned that into another run in a major promotion. Expected to make his Bellator debut in early 2019, Silva joins the company as it launches its Welterweight Grand Prix. That tournament features champion Rory MacDonald, as well as standouts Paul Daley, Jon Fitch, Ed Ruth, Michael ‘Venom’ Page, and Lorenz Larkin (as an alternate), among others.
