American Top Team’s Joshua Silveira continued to impress viewers with his opening-round submission victory over Rafael Viana at LFA 106. The unbeaten rising star is a combat sports lifer and he’s fully aware that what’s ahead of him is all for the taking.
In this Joshua Silveira interview, we delve into the details of his recent win, reasoning for why he’s realized immediate success, the strong gains being made at ATT, the influence of his father/coach, and much more.
It took less than a round for Silveira to lock up a rear-naked choke on his opponent at LFA 106. Since turning pro in 2019, the Florida native has yet to go the distance, finishing each of his five fights in highlight fashion. Silveira shared a fine detail regarding his most recent submission, which may have eluded the untrained eye.
Joshua Silveira Interview
“To be honest I never expect to submit somebody fast like that because I put myself in their shoes,” Silveira replied. “Like if I were to defend a rear-naked, I’m used to guys defending that stuff all the time in the gym when I’m going with the top guys. The rear-naked choke is one of those submissions where it’s kind of unfortunate when a guy gets caught in it because it’s like they got trapped. A triangle, armbar, and things like that are very Jiu-Jitsu oriented where an RNC just changes up the whole vibe. I was ready to go three rounds.”
“The way my father and I work on the rear-naked we don’t like to put the boots in right away,” he explained. “As you can see when I took the guy’s back, we call it a kickstand type of hook where all my weight is down on the ground versus being like a backpack and I think that’s the part that confused him at first. So I think I got away with that choke cause I didn’t put the boots in right away, it kind of looked unnatural in the Jiu-Jitsu world, but a fight’s a fight. When someone’s on your neck trying to choke you, you got to give that attention before it’s too late.”
Joshua Silveira has yet to be beaten in MMA following nine appearances. The 28-year-old’s entire life has revolved around combat sports. From his dad, Conan Silveira being a fighter and eventually his coach, to wrestling at Arizona State University, all the way to Vitor Belfort living in his home for a period of time. Needless to say, Silveira is an MMA lifer and he views that as the prime reason for his immediate success.
“When I look at my whole life and my history, in my mind I’m a real MMA baby like I’m a real MMA baby,” Silveira said. “I had Vitor Belfort living in my household when he was young ya know. This was back in the day when it was more family orientated. We had six or seven fighters and we didn’t make much money, but we loved what we did. Like my dad used to weigh himself at the supermarket. That’s why it puts a smile on my face when I see the sport as big as it is because now when I look at my future I’m like ‘oh this is all for the taking’.”
“This is all me I know this,” he continued. “This is the same situation as when I’d go to kindergarten and career day I’d tell my teacher I wanted to be a cage fighter. Watching this sport develop has me thinking that my time is coming.”
When speaking with Joshua Silveira it’s evident that he admires his father very much and he praises him as a coach. Having him along with his teammates at American Top Team has allowed him to improve at a rapid pace.
“Man it’s great because he’s been there for my life and for all the sports he’s been there supporting me,” Silveira stated. “The best part about it is that he knows how and when to dive in and when not to touch anything. Like when I was enjoying football and basketball as a kid he just wanted me to be the best athlete I could be, but he wasn’t some dad off the Varsity Blues ya know. He let me lose, he let me cry, and he let me win.”
“I think he did all that because he knew I wanted to be a fighter and it would require a lot of coaching so he didn’t wanna overwhelm me,” he recalled, “You’re gonna burn out your own son, and next thing ya know you hate your dad, but I feel like I’m just getting started with him as crazy as that sounds.”
ATT has some of the best fighters and coaches that the sport has to offer and Joshua Silveira has been reaping all the benefits. Training day in and day out alongside top talents has made the gains frequent and noteworthy. All of the hard work is rounding out Joshua Silveira’s versatile game.
“I’ve just competed so much man,” he began, “I’ve been through the ups and downs, and wrestling really put a stamp on my confidence level. I have confidence in myself, but it’s my gym, it’s my team man. Like when I go out and I fight, all those nerves and feelings I hide behind a shield, but in the back of my mind I’m going ‘you didn’t train with Austin Vanderford, you didn’t go with Johnny Eblen, you didn’t go with Markus Perez. There’s so much variety in this gym man. When you look at the hard work and the people you’ve been doing it with, there are solid gains being made every day.”
If you haven’t watched Joshua Silveira fight yet check out what you should expect each and every time he enters the cage.
“I think you should expect to see a relaxation and a calmness that I know I’m supposed to be there,” he affirmed. “Some guys as soon as they walk out they question if they should be there or not. Wherever I end up I know I will be there at the right place at the right time with the proper amount of experience. I’m 28 so I’m not super young, but I’m not an old guy either. I’m not a 21-year-old going into the UFC, it’s a big difference because there’s a lot of pressure. I have a good set of roots going in there with me man.”
As for what’s up next for Joshua Silveira, expect him to take a methodical approach for each career move. LFA 106 may not be his final appearance for the promotion.
“Yeah so I was talking to some of the LFA guys and they’re the type of show where they sign you and they want you to leave eventually. So I was sitting down with them and we know the middleweight title fight is this month, then the LHW title is vacant too. So I don’t wanna be done with LFA just yet, I think another two or three fights might help. Then I can enter one of the big organizations with some hardware, but honestly, who knows? This is just me throwing it out there, but I think getting an LFA belt will create more value for myself down the line.”
Whatever Joshua Silveira decides to do next you can rely on him to deliver a big performance. The ATT trainee is oozing talent and it’s only a matter of time before he becomes a household name in combat sports. Be on the lookout for his next fight because it’s must-watch TV.
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Featured Image Credits to LFA
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