Silva Survives Early Scare, Strangles Delgado

Jean Silva rebounded from a rough start to submit Jose Delgado with a rear-naked choke in the third round at Noche UFC 4 on Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona.

Silva entered as a heavy favorite despite Delgado accepting the featherweight main event on short notice, but the Brazilian barely threw a punch in the opening minutes. Delgado teed off at will and scored a knockdown in the first round that stole all the momentum, per MMA Mania. Silva looked visibly flat early, as BJ Penn reported, with the short-notice replacement weaving in and out of the pocket with sharp combinations.

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Silva Finds Second Wind, Lands Fight-Ending Sequence

The second round saw Silva finally let his hands go. He opened with body shots and forced Delgado onto the back foot, landing cleaner punches as the round wore on. Silva carried that resurgence into the third, clipping Delgado along the fence with a perfect right hand. Moments later he took the back, slipped one arm under the chin and squeezed until Delgado tapped at 2:15 of the frame.

The finish capped a wild turnaround for Silva, who barked in his opponent's face after the submission. The win moves Silva to 18-3 and marks his second straight victory after beating Arnold Allen in January. Delgado falls to 12-4 despite a gutsy performance on limited notice.

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Silva is expected to address his next move at the post-fight press conference later tonight.

Photo: MMAnytt / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Original reporting:

• mmamania.com — Noche UFC 4 Highlights! Silva Steals The Show With Slick One-Arm Choke | MMA Mania
• mmamania.com — Noche UFC 4 live results and play-by-play analysis | MMA Mania
• sherdog.com — UFC Noche 4 ‘Silva vs. Delgado’ play-by-play, results & round scoring
• bjpenn.com — Noche UFC 4 Results: Jean Silva stops Jose Delgado (Video) | BJPenn.com