Jean Silva says he barked in Bryce Mitchell’s face after choking him unconscious at UFC 314

Jean Silva has quickly become a must-see UFC fighter.

As a member of the dominant Fighting Nerds team, Silva has been flawless in the Octagon, winning at a frequent clip since his promotional debut in early 2024. Silva, 28, extended his winning streak to 13 — five in the UFC — with his fifth straight finish this past Saturday when he submitted Bryce Mitchell via second-round ninja choke at UFC 314. Although the win was arguably the best of Silva’s career thus far, he doesn’t want to label it as such so he can keep his mind open without limiting his potential.

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“I have to thank Bryce Mitchell for all this fame that I have,” Silva said through a translator Monday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “He was the one that kept saying my name in the media, and I’m really just reaping the benefits of being spoken about all the time. So people, because they didn’t agree with what he was saying, all of the sudden, they just started supporting me.”

“I wasn’t really talking [to him after choke],” Silva added. “I wasn’t really saying anything. I was just barking.”

What Mitchell was saying, as Silva put it, stemmed from the American’s disgusting comments in support of Adolf Hitler this past January, in which Mitchell announced unprompted on his podcast that “Hitler was a good guy based upon my own research, not my public education indoctrination,” and that, “he was a guy I’d go fishing with. He fought for his country. He wanted to purify it by kicking the greedy Jews out that were destroying his country and turning them all into gays.” Mitchell’s comments drew revulsion from UFC CEO Dana White and led to chants of “F*** Bryce Mitchell” at a press conference ahead of UFC 314, after which Mitchell claimed Silva cast a spell on him and sent “a legion of demons” and attractive women into his dreams to tempt Mitchell into cheating on his wife.

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Silva and the Fighting Nerds team have become known for their flashy and thrilling striking skills. In his UFC wins, “Lord” has been more than happy to engage in wild striking exchanges, even occasionally egging on his opponents to throw down. So far, he’s come out unscathed in all efforts.

At UFC 314, the primary concern in the lead-up for Silva surrounded how he’d handle Mitchell’s seemingly superior edge in the grappling realm. The Brazilian, however, was ultimately met with little resistance, thwarting 13 of Mitchell’s 14 takedown attempts and threatening with submissions until his fight-ending ninja choke stole the American’s consciousness.

“We actually trained this submission a lot,” Silva said. “We trained for about two months to do this submission exactly like that. We trained because we needed to have this submission with Bryce Mitchell, and I wanted to show my jiu-jitsu, my grappling. I wanted to show that all my skills are above all those other levels. So this is exactly the way I wanted the submission to be.”

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UFC 314 was an overall showcase for the 145-pound division, with five featherweight fights featured throughout the card. The main event saw a new champion crowned after Ilia Topuria vacated the belt in February on the same week Silva knocked out Melsik Baghdasaryan. With Topuria expected to test the waters at lightweight, all-time great Alexander Volkanovski defeated top contender Diego Lopes in a Fight of the Night collision to recapture the title and reign supreme once again.

Silva believes he’s already capable of giving the now two-time champ a run for his money.

“I think I’d like to aim directly to the belt,” Silva said. “I believe I have the credentials, and if this is good for the UFC, I’d like to do it. If not, we’ll have somebody who will bring me as close as possible to this goal.

“I believe that between me and Volkanovski, [we] would have a fantastic fight. I like him very, very much, but I think this would be a good fight for me, and I could probably go for a knockout in the first or second round.”

Silva already has two significant stoppage victories in 2025 despite being just four months into the year. He’s celebrating the latest triumph uninjured while also preparing for his upcoming wedding, but likes the idea of returning to the Octagon relatively soon.

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“If we would take maybe two months to remove his belt, I’m totally in favor of that,” Silva said. “I think this would be a fabulous fight, and the people would love it.

“I completely understand if UFC doesn’t find it the right moment to do it right now, but in two months, I would find it very important or very adequate for me to remove his belt. And once I defend this belt, I’m the type of fighter who likes to fight three or four times if [UFC CEO] Dana [White] agrees with this.”

A title shot might be asking for too much from Silva’s current position, but it never hurts to try. In front of all other featherweight contenders sits the undefeated 19-0 Movsar Evloev, who has become somewhat of the odd man out in most title discussions.

Silva doesn’t necessarily believe Evloev is undeserving of the shot or a bad fighter. Regarding how the UFC would decide between the two, Silva just sees himself as the overall better option.

“I understand Movsar Evloev, but he’s missing a lot of opportunities,” Silva said. “He actually got out of the fights, and I don’t think he’s offering sufficient opportunities to UFC for the title. He’s a very good athlete and I very much would like to fight with him, but I think I present to the UFC more profitable opportunities for the future. So I think I could go directly to the title shot.”