As more fighters reveal their horror stories involving former UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, Brendan Schaub has piled on.
Fight fans may look back at Silva fondly for putting together some of the most memorable MMA bouts. Behind the scenes, however, things were grim. Fighters such as former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez have told stories on the type of person Silva was. Alvarez claimed Silva was with a group of friends, including current UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby. Alvarez claimed when he asked about a title opportunity early in his UFC run, Silva replied saying he’ll never get a title shot with the performances he was putting out. The claim goes on that Silva and his group laughed at Alvarez.
Brendan Schaub Rips Former UFC Matchmaker Joe Silva
Other fighters have recalled far worse stories, such as being purposely sidelined for months due to turning down a fight only to be given a mismatch. The general consensus is that Silva was on a power trip. Schaub took to his Below The Belt podcast to throw in his own two cents on Silva (via BJPenn.com).
“Joe Silva was a savage man. A f*cking savage. He was a guy who was on the Sherdog forums, he was a big fan, and he got this role as the matchmaker of the UFC dealing with the toughest guys in the world. Joe Silva is 5’1″. He’s this little Sherdog forum troll who had a lot of power in the UFC. He had a lot of power and controlled guys’ destinies. He got drunk on ego. He was a motherf*cker, man. The stories that will come out if this did gain traction, I don’t think it will, but I would assume every fighter has a Joe Silva story,” Schaub said.
Schaub went on to say that he had an interaction with Silva before his walkout to fight Mirko Cro Cop. Schaub claimed that Silva told him, “you better not treat him like your f*cking friend.” He also claimed Silva told him his bout with Lavar Johnson was “sh*t” and should’ve been the first bout on the card that night.
Silva was inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame class of 2017. The former matchmaker retired in 2016. The UFC slotted Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard in Silva’s role.
