Bruno Gustavo Aparecido da Silva (born 16 March 1990) is a Brazilian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competes in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). As of 1 July 2025, he is #14 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

Background

Silva was born and grew up in the neighborhoods of

Piracicaba Piracicaba ( ) is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality located in the Interior of São Paulo, interior of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. It serves as the main city ...

, Brazil, with one sister and one brother. Playing various sports in his childhood, Silva dabbled into martial arts by training

capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, capoeira music, music, and spirituality. It likely originated from enslaved Mbundu people, of the Kingdom of Ndongo, in present-day Angola. The ...

around the age of ten. Eventually at the age of 19, he started training mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Starting his career in 2011, Silva racked up a 7–2–1 record in his native Brazil before trying out for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4 in late 2014.

TUF Brazil 4

In the preliminary bout for the season, Silva faced Gustavo Sedório. Silva won the fight via first-round technical knockout due to a jaw injury Sedório suffered. In the quarterfinals Silva faced Dileno Lopes. Silva lost the bout via first-round submission and was eliminated from the tournament.

Post-TUF career

After the season Silva moved to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

in 2015 in order to train at Fight Ready MMA. He competed mostly in United States, racking up 3–1–1 with his most memorable fights being winning the World Fighting Federation Flyweight title and also a draw against fellow future UFC fighter, Casey Kenney at LFA 11.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Silva was scheduled to face

Khalid Taha Khalid Taha (born February 15, 1992) is a German mixed martial artist currently competing in the bantamweight division. A professional since 2013, he has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Rizin Fighting Federation. Mixed martial a ...

on 7 September 2019, at

UFC 242 ''UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier '' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on September 7, 2019 at The Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event mar ...

. However, on 21 August, it was reported that the bout was moved to

UFC 243 ''UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 6, 2019, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Background The event was the fourth th ...

. He lost the fight via submission in round three. On 23 December 2019, Taha received a one year

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti-doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...

suspension for tested positive for

furosemide Furosemide, sold under the brand name Lasix among others, is a loop diuretic medication used to treat edema due to heart failure, liver scarring, or kidney disease. Furosemide may also be used for the treatment of high blood pressure. It can ...

(

diuretics A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics in ...

) in an in-competition urine sample provided on 6 October 2019 where Taha took a medicine for reducing inflammation and swelling in his eyes which contained furosemide. The fight was overturned to a no contest. Silva was scheduled to face

Su Mudaerji Su Mudaerji ( zh, 苏木达尔基; ; born January 20, 1996), sometimes written as Sumudaerji, is a Chinese professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight and Bantamweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

in a flyweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira on 14 March 2020. However, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China The COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). China was where the first COVID outbreak occurred, the ...

, Mudaerji was forced to withdraw from the event as he would not travel to prepare for the fight and was replaced by promotional newcomer David Dvořák. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Silva was scheduled to face Tagir Ulanbekov on 12 September 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill. However, due to

travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and territories imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. Some countries and territories imposed global restric ...

, the pairing was rescheduled and took place four weeks later at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. As the last fight of his prevailing contract, Silva faced JP Buys on 20 March 2021, at UFC on ESPN 21. After knocking Buys down multiple times during the bout, da Silva won the bout via technical knockout in the second round. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Silva signed a new, four-fight deal with the organization. Silva, replacing Denys Bondar, faced Victor Rodriguez on 22 May 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt. He won the fight via knockout a minute into the first round. This win earned him the'' Performance of the Night'' award. Silva faced

Tyson Nam Tyson Ka’eo Nam (born October 6, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. A professional since 2006, Nam has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, World Series of Fightin ...

on 11 March 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 221 ''UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 221'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 79'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 11, 2023, at The Theater at Virgin Hotel ...

. He won the fight via technical submission due to a rear-naked choke in round two. This win earned him the'' Performance of the Night'' award. Silva was scheduled to face Cody Durden on 23 September 2023, at UFC Fight Night 228. However, the bout was canceled because Durden filled in to face Jake Hadley at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font as a result of the withdrawal of Hadley's original opponent. Durden and Silva faced each other on 20 July 2024, at UFC on ESPN 60. Silva won the fight by technical knockout in the second round. This fight earned him another '' Performance of the Night'' award. Silva faced former RIZIN Bantamweight Champion

Manel Kape Manuel Pedro Gomes (born November 14, 1993), known as Manel Kape, is an Angolan-born Portuguese professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since ...

on 14 December 2024 at UFC on ESPN 63. Despite delivering three low-blows resulting in a point deduction for Silva, Silva ended up losing the fight by technical knockout via a body kick and punches in the third round. Silva was scheduled to face

Joshua Van Joshua Van (born October 10, 2001), is a Burmese and American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the first Burmese fighter to sign with the promotion. As o ...

on 8 March 2025, at

UFC 313 ''UFC 313: Pereira vs. Ankalaev '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 8, 2025, at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States. Background A U ...

. However, Silva pulled out due to an injury and was replaced by Road to UFC Season 2 flyweight winner Rei Tsuruya. The bout was re-scheduled and took place on 7 June 2025 at

UFC 316 ''UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 7, 2025, at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey, United States. Background The event marked the ...

. Silva lost the fight by technical knockout late into the third round.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (Four times) *World Fighting Federation **WFF Flyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3–1 , Adalto Prado , KO (head kick) , Aspera FC 44 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:07 , São Pedro, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2–1 , Matt Betzold , Decision (split) , World Fighting Federation 25 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2–1 , Sóslenis Carvalho , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Talent MMA Circuit 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:33 ,

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, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2–1 , Atila Oliveira , Decision (unanimous) , MMA Challenge: Ponte Preta , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Gustavo Sedório , TKO (jaw injury) , The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4 , (airdate) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Bruno Gustavo 1990 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists utilizing capoeira Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian capoeira practitioners Martial artists from São Paulo (state) Sportspeople from Piracicaba 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen