Matchup Spotlight | Van vs Silva

Both fighters exhibit excellent striking, but Silva is more apt to finish the fight compared to Van. While both men hold active flyweight records, it would be interesting to see Silva test Van’s takedown defense and make the fight ugly. If Silva does not utilize this, Van can stay in his preferred area, which is “The Van Void.” This is the area where Van can hit you, but you can’t hit him, essentially in the range that he creates.

Most of Van’s fights end in decision with a lot of inflicted damage, but Silva can find a path to victory with dirty boxing and picking his shots very selectively. If Silva can land heavy punches while trying to get Van out of the fight, he may find success very early. Silva needs to ensure that he is not overextending and catching himself whiffing.

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With Van being very good in the boxing range, he must establish the distance early. Van must utilize a stiff jab to dictate the fight. The more this fight gets ugly, the worse it will be for Van. It may be to Van’s benefit that Silva is coming off a KO loss, as he can continually test the chin with multiple shots. Van’s path to victory lies within the range and making the fight aesthetically pleasing. This means long shots and unrivaled footwork that will make it a nightmare for Silva to catch him. 

Regardless of the winner, both fighters will look to use their star power to continue rising in the ever-changing flyweight division. With a win, either fighter can look to face Top 10 competition next and potentially only be one or two fights away from a title shot. To say this fight has a lot of sway in the future of the flyweight division is an understatement, but what is true is that no one should miss this fight come Saturday night.