Fighters Only

Issue 106

October 2013

FO follows Blackzilians’ revitalized light heavyweight star through a typical day in his latest Florida fight camp

A happy fighter is a winning fighter and, boy, is UFC light heavyweight star Thiago Silva smiling right now. Settled in at Blackzilians in Boca Raton, Florida, the Brazilian officially put two years of heartache firmly behind him in June with his KO of countryman Rafael Cavalcante.

The victory, he hopes, should prove to be a turning point in a career that once promised so much. The Chute Boxe Academy graduate was seen as a true shooting star when he ran up a destructive and KO-laden 14-1 record in just four years from 2005 to 2009.

But his UFC 108 loss to former champion Rashad Evans in 2009 led to two years of setbacks. A third career defeat – in Sweden to the current number-one challenger Alexander Gustafsson – was sandwiched between two no contests, against Brandon Vera and Stanislav Nedkov respectively.

On both occasions Silva had his hand raised inside the Octagon. But both were subsequently overturned, the first due to a falsified urine sample, and the second after testing positive for marijuana metabolites. The win against Cavalcante therefore was imperative.

“Moving to Blackzilians has turned my career around,” says Silva, 30, who made the switch across Florida from American Top Team around 12 months ago. “I am very happy here. The coaches are very good, the facilities are very good and my teammates too are very good.”

Fighters Only traveled to Boca Raton to spend the day with Silva, from sunrise to sunset, to discover what it takes to be a force in the UFC’s 205lb division.

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

In a division stacked with super strong, knockout strikers and bone bending grapplers, strength and conditioning training is imperative, and for Silva the Jaco Training Center base of the Blackzilians team offers up ideal facilities.

With cutting-edge equipment, internationally renowned coaches and athletes, not just from the world of MMA, Silva’s daily fight camp routine is filled with ropes, bags, balls, machines, free-weights and plenty of body-weight drills too.

“I enjoy working out, I always have,” he says. “The feeling at the end of a camp, when you are big and strong, is the best.”

PADS

“A fight is a war, and I love to win the war,” Silva states. “You win the war by fighting hard in the gym, with great coaches and sparring partners. We are all working hard to grow as individuals and as a team.”

Today Thiago has a mitts session with striking coach Henry Hooft on the calendar. The pair work on punch combinations, utilizing Silva’s powerful bombs with great efficiency. Everything works off the feint and left jab, a game plan set in place early in camp to counter Rafael Cavalcante’s own strike-heavy style.

It was both conditioning and a slick six-punch combination, culminating in a right uppercut, that put Silva back on winning ways on June 8th – and a manner of success he hopes to extend into 2014.

NUTRITION

Rising long before his wife and child, Thiago prepares an early morning super shake to start the day. Featuring protein, oats, fruit and vegetables – it gives him the perfect fuel for a grueling double session.

The shake is fueled by vanilla-flavored Nature’s Best Isopure Zero Carb, a lactose-free, fat-free, carb-free whey protein isolate – a great pre-workout protein isolate.