UFC veteran Erick Silva signs multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA

Under the guidance of Scott Coker, Bellator MMA has picked up another high profile UFC veteran: Erick Silva. Silva, who was once considered a top prospect in the UFC, has signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator, where he is expected to compete in the promotion’s stacked welterweight division.

This news was announced by Silva’s manager on social media, and subsequently confirmed by MMA Fighting, who spoke to officials from Bellator.

Although he was once expected to have a very bright future in the UFC, Erick Silva’s UFC career didn’t quite live up to those expectations. During his time with the promotion, the Brazilian went 7-8. Many of those eight losses occurred in the more recent phase of his UFC career, as he lost 4 of his last 5 fights in the Octagon. That being said, Silva did pick up impressive wins over fighters like Charlie Brenneman, Jason High and Josh Koscheck. He also engaged in close, memorable fights with top talents in Jon Fitch and Matt Brown. After being released from the UFC, Silva picked up a first-round submission of Nick Barnes under the LFA banner.

Erick Silva joins the Bellator MMA family at a time when its welterweight division has never been better. The promotion is currently hosting an eight-man welterweight tournament featuring top talent in Rory MacDonald, Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Michael “Venom” Page, Paul Daley, Jon Fitch, Neiman Gracie, and Ed Ruth. While the promotion has already called on Yaroslav Amosov and Lorenz Larkin to serve as tournament alternates, its possible Erick Silva will also be invited to partake in the tournament as an alternate. At the very least, he’s bound to fight several of the men listed above in the near future.

How do you think Erick Silva will perform in the Bellator cage?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/7/2018.