Jean Silva makes things personal with Diego Lopes ahead of Noche UFC

Jean Silva isn’t mincing words ahead of his showdown with Diego Lopes.

Silva and Lopes are set to collide in the main event of Noche UFC on Sept. 13 inside Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. Going into the fight, Silva has decided to rev up the trash talk. The Fighting Nerds standout has never been shy in hurling barbs at his opponent, which is what he did prior to his most recent fight against Bryce Mitchell.

Now, he’s taking aim at Lopes by questioning his ethnicity.

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Jean Silva Grills Diego Lopes Over Ethnicity

Jose Youngs of MMAFighting.com got a chance to speak to Jean Silva shortly after his Noche UFC fight against Diego Lopes was announced. Ahead of fight night, Silva insists that Lopes has long struggled to meet him face-to-face.

“Diego hasn’t been able to look at my face,” Silva said through a translator. “He hasn’t looked at me in the eye, ever. You know what, regardless of the rivalry or what’s been said at the fight, every athlete there is going to be representing Mexico and the independence of Mexico. I mean, even more so than me beating him up.”

“Lord” Silva took things a step further, calling Lopes’ ethnicity into question.

“They’re gonna watch MMA at the highest level on a great night,” Silva said when asked why fans should watch his fight instead of Canelo-Crawford. “And also, they’re going to see someone who boxes like Canelo beating up on a fighter that doesn’t know whether he’s Mexican or Brazilian.”

This will be the biggest fight of Silva’s pro MMA career. He currently sits at the No. 10 spot on the official UFC featherweight rankings, while Lopes is holding onto the No. 3 spot. Lopes is fresh off a losing effort against Alexander Volkanovski in a vacant UFC Featherweight Championship fight.