Bruno Silva knew he needed a statement performance in the final fight on his contract at UFC on ESPN 21.
Brazil’s Silva (11-6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) delivered with a second-round TKO of J.P. Buys (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in their flyweight bout, which opened Saturday’s card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Silva was sharp from the jump, landing on Buys with strikes and controlling the grappling. He turned it up to another gear in the second frame, however, landing multiple clean shots and dropping Buys all over the canvas until getting the finish at the 2:56 mark of the round.
Check out the replay of the finish (via Twitter):
WOULDN'T BE DENIED 😤
🦴 @BrunoBuldogUFC finishes the newcomer in RD 2!
[ #UFCVegas22 – LIVE on ESPNews and #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/TGE8pGBDA9
— UFC (@ufc) March 21, 2021
After coming into the fight winless in his first three octagon appearances, the pressure was on Silva. With former double UFC champ Henry Cejudo in his corner directing him through, he got the job done.
Silva sent a message to the UFC brass during his post-fight interview with Paul Felder.
“I feel so good,” Silva said. “I want to say Dana (White), Mick Maynard, Sean Shelby: I deserve my contract. … My plan was to defend the takedown and knock him out.”
