Rafael Silva

Rafael Silva (; born March 20, 1985) is a retired Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Silva has competed in his native Brazil for most of his career, but has also multiple bouts in Pancrase, where he was the Bantamweight King of Pancrase, and Bellator MMA.

Background Silva started training martial arts at the age of 15. His brother Julio Cesar Neves is also a professional mixed martial artist.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Silva made his professional MMA debut in June 2005. After going 2–2 in his first four fights, he maintained an impressive record of 18 wins and only 1 loss from 2009 to 2012. Among his notable wins was a victory over former UFC fighter John Lineker.

A long-time veteran of the national Brazilian MMA scene, Silva fought for a variety of promotions - including World Fighting Combat, Sparta MMA, Octagon MMA, Connect Fight Night, Energy Force, and Nitrix Champion Fight - before making his North American debut.

Bellator MMA In June 2012, it was announced that Silva had signed with Bellator MMA, although he did not debut until a year later.

Silva entered as a participant in the 2013 Summer Series Bantamweight tournament. He faced Rodrigo Lima in the semifinals at Bellator 97 and won via submission in the third round. The finals were delayed until the fall of 2013 and he eventually faced Anthony Leone at Bellator 102. He won the fight via dominant unanimous decision to earn a title shot.

Silva was booked to face Bantamweight Champion Eduardo Dantas on March 7, 2014, but due to a knee injury, Silva was replaced by Anthony Leone at Bellator 111.

Silva stepped in to replace Eduardo Dantas to face Joe Warren at Bellator 118 on May 2, 2014. The fight was scheduled for the Bellator Interim Bantamweight championship. Silva, however, missed weight and the promotion made the interim title available only if Warren were to win. Silva lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Silva faced Rob Emerson on October 3, 2014 at Bellator 127. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Silva faced Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 137 on May 15, 2015. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

In June 2015, it was revealed that Silva, along with his brother Julio Cesar and 6 other fighters, were released from the promotion.

Post-Bellator career Silva returned to the Brazilian circuit and faced Derinaldo Guerra for the vacant Aspera FC Bantamweight title on September 12, 2015, winning the fight by arm-triangle choke in the first round.

After two submission wins in smaller independent organizations, Silva signed with Pancrase.

Pancrase In his promotional debut Silva faced Shohei Masumizu at Pancrase 276 on March 13, 2016, winning the bout via submission in the first round.

Next he faced Masakatsu Ueda at Pancrase 279 on July 24, 2016. Silva won the bout via unanimous decision.

In his third Pancrase bout Silva faced Victor Henry at Pancrase 282 on November 13, 2016. He won the fight via split decision.

Three straight victories in the promotion aligned Silva to challenge the prevailing Bantamweight King of Pancrase Shintaro Ishiwatari at Pancrase 287 on May 28, 2017. He lost the title fight via unanimous decision.

Later that year, Ishiwatari's title was vacated as he left Pancrase to enter Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix, leading Silva to rematch Masakatsu Ueda for the interim Bantamweight Championship. The fight eventually happened at Pancrase 296 on May 20, 2018, Silva becoming the interim Bantamweight King of Pancrase via unanimous decision. He was subsequently promoted to undisputed Bantamweight King of Pancrase.

In the first title defense, Silva faced Kenta Takizawa at Pancrase 303 on March 17, 2019. Silva successfully defended the title, winning the fight via submission in the first round.

As the second title defense, Silva faced Yuto Hokamura at Pancrase 307 on July 21, 2019. Silva defended his title again via second round submission win.

ONE Championship In October 2019, Silva's manager revealed that Silva is no longer under contract with Pancrase, and had signed a one-bout contract with ONE Championship. In his promotional debut, Silva faced Shoko Sato at ONE Championship: Century Part 2 on October 13, 2019. Silva lost the round via technical knockout in the second round.

Silva was then scheduled to face Gabriel Miranda at Brave CF 35 on March 28, 2020. However, the bout was scrapped after the event was postponed to another date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Silva was scheduled to have a unification match with Taichi Nakajima at Pancrase 327 in April, 2022, however he suffered a knee injury and retired from MMA.

Championships and accomplishments Bellator MMA Bellator 2013 Summer Series Bantamweight Tournament Winner Pancrase Pancrase Interim Bantamweight Championship (one time; former) Pancrase Bantamweight Championship (one time; former) Two successful title defenses Aspera Fighting Championship AFC Bantamweight Championship (one time; former)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Vicente Vargas TKO (punches) UAE Warriors 48

Balneário Camboriú, Brazil Loss

Shoko Sato TKO (punches) ONE: Century – Part 2

Tokyo, Japan Win

Yuto Hokamura Submission (arm-triangle choke) Pancrase 307

Tokyo, Japan Win

Kenta Takizawa Submission (rear-naked choke) Pancrase 303

Tokyo, Japan Win

Masakatsu Ueda Decision (unanimous) Pancrase 296

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Shintaro Ishiwatari Decision (unanimous) Pancrase 287

Tokyo, Japan Win

Victor Henry Decision (split) Pancrase 282

Tokyo, Japan Win

Masakatsu Ueda Decision (unanimous) Pancrase 279

Tokyo, Japan Win

Shohei Masumizu Submission (arm-triangle choke) Pancrase 276

Tokyo, Japan Win

Ruben Hernandez Parra Submission (arm-triangle choke) The Best Fighter 1

Praia, Cape Verde Win

Jeferson Vieira da Silva Submission (armbar) XFC International 13

São Paulo, Brazil Win

Derinaldo Guerra Submission (arm-triangle choke) Aspera FC 24

São José, Brazil Loss

Darrion Caldwell Decision (unanimous) Bellator 137

Temecula, California, United States Win

Rob Emerson Decision (unanimous) Bellator 127

Temecula, California, United States Loss

Joe Warren Decision (unanimous) Bellator 118

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Anthony Leone Decision (unanimous) Bellator 102

Visalia, California, United States Win

Rodrigo Lima Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 97

Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States Win

Fabio Selim Submission (rear-naked choke) Sparta MMA

Itajaí, Brazil Win

Luciano Aranha TKO (punches) Connect Fight Night 2

Biguacu, Brazil Win

Mauricio da Silva KO (head kick) Energy Force

Navegantes, Brazil Win

Saulo Silva KO (Superman punch) Connect Fight Night 1

Balneario Camboriu, Brazil Win

Diego D'Avila TKO (punches) Nitrix Champion Fight 10

Camboriú, Brazil Win

Wagner Noronha Decision (split) Apocalypse Fighting Championship

Passo Fundo, Brazil Win

Fernando Giacometti TKO (elbows)

Win

Tiago Silva KO (punch)

Win

Jonatan Feitosa Submission (rear-naked choke) Centurion Mixed Martial Arts 2

Itajaí, Brazil Win

Ozeias Costa Decision (unanimous) Full Heroes Battle 4

Paranagua, Brazil Win

Rogerio Goncalves Menna Submission (arm-triangle choke) World Fighting Combat: Pretorian

Pelotas, Brazil Loss

Diego D'Avila Submission (armbar) Nitrix Champion Fight 6

Brusque, Brazil Win

Erikson Lima Submission (rear-naked choke) Centurion Mixed Martial Arts

Balneario Camboriu, Brazil Win

Fabio Nunes Submission (kimura) Colizeu Fight Championship

Joaçaba, Brazil Win

Edson da Silva Submission (triangle choke) Black Trunk Fight 1

Florianópolis, Brazil Win

Joilson Costelinha Submission (armbar) Nitrix Champion Fight 5

Balneario Camboriu, Brazil Win

David Bad Boy Submission (rear-naked choke) Nitrix Show Fight 4

Balneario Camboriu, Brazil Win

John Lineker Decision (unanimous) Warrior's Challenge 4

Porto Belo, Brazil Win

Wagner Mexicano TKO (retirement) Nitrix Show Fight 3

Itajaí, Brazil Loss

Alessandro Cordeiro TKO (punches) Nitrix Show Fight 2

Joinville, Brazil Loss

Marcio Furlin Decision (split) Floripa Fight 2

Florianópolis, Brazil Win

Wallid Wallid TKO (punches) X-treme Combat

Brazil