Behind The Fighter: Sergio “The Savage” DaSilva
On July 18, professional mixed martial arts fighter Sergio “The Savage” DaSilva (4-7 MMA, 4-2 CFFC) will be facing Dwayne Holman (2-4 MMA, 0-2 CFFC) who is also coming off of a win. This bout will be at catchweight of 130lbs. One week before fight night in the Cage Fury Fighting Championships, NewYorkFighting.com met with “The Savage” at Long Island MMA. Da Silva invited us to take an inside look into his personal life, fight camp, and his future plans.
Sergio DaSilva was born in Rio de Janero, Brazil, moved to New York at the age of four, and has been involved in MMA since his early teenage years. DaSilva had his first professional bout in 2011 and posted a victory in his most recent fight. Not only is he a professional MMA fighter – DaSilva is a devoted husband and father. In order for DaSilva to pursue his dream of competing at the professional level, “The Savage” must make many sacrifices. A typical day for him will consist of waking up at 6:00 A.M, taking his wife to and from work, bringing his two children to and from school, taking care of his family’s business, and then making the hour-long commute to Long Island MMA from his house. He also trains at two other gyms: Vitor Shaolin Brazilian Jiu Jitsu located in the Manhattan and Sitan Muay Thai located in Queens. Fortunate for da Silva, his commute is much shorter to Vitor Shaolin and Sitan. In addition to a difficult schedule he said many of his fights fall on important family dates; anniversaries, birthdays, etc. Although it is a difficult lifestyle to juggle, DaSilva remains optimistic and says “Just keep moving, that’s what we got to do.”
DaSilva believes that due to his experience and high level training there will be nothing that he has not seen before in his upcoming fight. Not many fighters are fortunate to count Dennis Bermudez (UFC Fighter, #8-ranked Featherweight), Ryan La Flare (UFC Fighter) Chris Wade (UFC Fighter), Marcos Galvao (Bellator Bantamweight Champion), and many more, among his everyday training partners. DaSilva predicts that he will finish Holman in the first round. DaSilva also shared the cage with Aljamain Sterling (UFC Fighter, #7-ranked Bantamweight) early in his career, where their fight went to a three round decision. Since they both train in the Long Island area, they have worked together since that point, and DaSilva doubts that they will fight again. However, DaSilva would love to get in the cage with Sterling again for a second time if they cross paths in the future.
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Although DaSilva currently competes at two weight classes (flyweight and bantamweight), he plans to make the flyweight division his permanent home in the future. Although dropping to flyweight is very difficult for him, he said with the right dieting he will get there. DaSilva said “I think I can be an average (fighter) at bantamweight and world champion at flyweight.” When asked about his plans after this fight, he said he would like to have another fight and then a title fight. DaSilva wants his fans and supporters to know that taking a fight for him is not as easy as signing a contract. A lot of sacrifices are made just to compete at the professional level. He would enjoy being able to just train, eat, and sleep, but that is not possible due to his current lifestyle. Fans can watch DaSilva display all of his hard work on July 18th, live on CBS Sports, or by purchasing tickets at CFFC.tv
Here is our exclusive interview – Behind The Fighter: Sergio “The Savage” DaSilva
Watch Live Saturday, July 18 on CBS Sports
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Written by The NewYorkFighting.com Intern, James Michael Moise
Editor: Kyle Antonelli
Video: Matt Culley & Sophia Laurelli
Video Edit: Sophia Laurelli
Special thanks to Long Island MMA for the hospitality
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