#alexsilva

Alex “Little Rock” Silva fell narrowly short in his attempt to become a two-time ONE Strawweight World Champion at ONE: FIRE & FURY in Manila, Philippines.

This past Friday, 31 January, the Brazilian athlete challenged Joshua “The Passion” Pacio in the main event of the evening, but the defending ONE Strawweight World Champion retained his belt after a razor-thin split decision win.

Silva – a Copa De Mundo BJJ World Champion – engaged in several tense grappling encounters with Pacio on the canvas, but could not find a way to submit his rival.

The Evolve representative’s normally formidable grappling finally met its match against the Filipino’s surprisingly stout ground defense.

Though “Little Rock” was able to control Pacio for brief moments during the contest, “The Passion” showed composure to slip out and get back to his feet on several of those occasions.

It appeared as if the thrilling back-and-forth action on the ground had no end in sight, as both athletes jostled for position for all five rounds.

Ultimately, it was the local favorite who walked away with his hand raised by the thinnest of margins.

At the post-match press conference, Silva expressed his admiration and respect for Pacio’s achievements.

“He’s one of the toughest guys I have ever fought against. This is the third time in my career that I’ve went the full five rounds. He’s a tough kid and he deserves to be at the top of the division,” Silva said.

Given the complexity of the match, “Little Rock” understood the result could have gone either way.

However, he felt like his output on the ground and defense on the feet ought to have been enough to earn the judges’ nod.

“It’s hard to take decisions. When I left the Circle, there were many people who told me that I had the fight, and I feel the same way,” the 37-year-old said.

“I handled his strikes, I was able to take him down, control him, and I even managed to put my hands on him a couple of times.”

Despite the loss, fans will be happy to know Silva remains focused on his goal to reclaim the World Title. He has even said he would return to action as soon as possible.

“Right now, I need to go back and watch the match,” he added. “It’s hard, but this is just a temporary setback, I will be back.”

ONE Championship travels to Jakarta, Indonesia next for ONE: WARRIOR’S CODE this Friday, 7 February, at the Istora Senayan.

The lead card begins on meWatch at 6:30pm Singapore Standard Time (SGT).

To watch the main card, tune-in to meWatch at 9:30pm SGT.

Also, Channel 5 will cut-in live to the main card at 10:00pm SGT.

Download the ONE Super App to catch all the action live and for free.

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Having grown up with few mentors in Ubatuba, Brazil, Alex “Little Rock” Silva knows how important positive male role models can be to young boys.

Ahead of his World Title tilt with ONE Championship’s reigning strawweight king Joshua “The Passion” Pacio at ONE: FIRE & FURY this Friday, 31 January, in Manila, Philippines, Silva took some time to visit Boys’ Town in his adopted home country of Singapore.

As a BJJ instructor at Evolve, Silva’s warm and friendly demeanor has made him an approachable and well-respected mentor to many of his students.

One of those students is Papa Rich, who introduced the 37-year-old Brazilian to Boys’ Town, a Catholic charity that provides residential care, youth outreach, adventure therapy, and clinical intervention for at-risk boys.

“Papa Rich is very involved with many organizations, and I’ve always been able to turn to him for such stuff,” Silva said.

“My wife and I went down to Boys’ Town to spend some time with the guys there.”

Silva aimed to foster deeper connections with the boys, so he left the formalities at the door.

“I didn’t want them to think of me like I’m a guest of honor and be just another guy there to give a motivational talk. I wanted to go there and have them see me as a friend,” he explained.

“We didn’t do any usual activities, but just spent a lot of time talking to the boys and getting to know them. Then we had dinner together and a sharing session.”

While the boys asked questions about his profession as a mixed martial artist, Silva took great care to talk about his personal life, which made him a more relatable figure.

“They would ask me about my career, when did I start fighting, or that they want to be a fighter like me,” Silva said.

“But I reminded many of them that they are fighters, too. They fight every day, against their struggles, for their dreams.

“Just like me, I told them I was born premature. I was bullied, but I stood up and fought against those things. I wanted them to see that they are no different from me.”

Silva’s message was well-received, and he felt grateful that the boys opened up to him during the visit.

“It isn’t my first time here – we’ve done things before with Evolve as a team,” he shared.

“But it really touched me when I spoke and the boys were all very attentive, you can see the expressions on their faces.”

Experiences like these not only serve to move the people he speaks to, but they also leave “Little Rock,” himself, feeling inspired.

“I am not good at public speaking, so to see the boys appreciating my message and enjoying the time we spent, it meant a lot to me,” Silva said.

Despite being busy putting the finishes touches on his training for Friday’s World Title showdown with Pacio, Silva was more than happy to spend time at Boys’ Town.

But he insists his job is not done.

“I’ve been discussing some ideas for what we want to do in Manila. I’m hoping to do something there as well since I’ll be there for a few days,” he said.

“I don’t like to tell others what I’m going to do, so I’ll just do it because I want to, and I know it comes from my heart. I just like to give back to others.”

Tune in to support Silva as he challenges for the ONE Strawweight World Title at ONE: FIRE & FURY on 31 January in Manila, Philippines.

The lead card starts on meWatch at 5:30pm Singapore Standard Time (SGT).

To watch the main card, tune-in to meWatch at 8:30pm SGT.

Also, Channel 5 will air the event via next day delay on Sunday at 12:00am SGT.

Download the ONE Super App to catch all the action live and for free.

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For over 20 years, Alex “Little Rock” Silva has been a devoted Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) practitioner. Like a compass, “the gentle art” has shown Silva his True North.

BJJ helped the former ONE Strawweight World Champion navigate a trying childhood fraught with bullying and poverty. It gave him direction, it gave him drive, and it gave him purpose. But also, it gave him a path.

That path has led to a second shot at the ONE Strawweight World Title – Joshua “The Passion” Pacio’s to be exact. And on Friday, 31 January, at ONE: FIRE & FURY, the Brazilian will try to exit the Mall Of Asia Arena wearing gold once again.

Ahead of his showdown with the current strawweight king in Manila, Philippines, Silva reveals why just a year ago a second run at the World Title seemed impossible.

Silva was in the midst of a three-bout skid and had even lost his World Championship in a rematch to rival Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito at ONE: GRIT & GLORY in May 2018.

“It was a bad period for me from 2018 to 2019,” he recalled. “There was definitely pressure on my shoulders to win.”

More than a year had passed since Silva last recorded a submission, and “Little Rock” knew it was time to return to his roots in BJJ.

“It’s only normal that when you are not doing well, like when I had three straight defeats, to constantly be overthinking what you can do better or what you did wrong,” he said.

“But then, I realized before all of this, I didn’t think. I just went out there and did what I know.”

In times of turbulence and difficulties, Silva could always rely on his BJJ acumen, but it became an afterthought with all the doubts clouding his mind.

“I got sidetracked with all the different stuff I was trying to bring into my game, like striking, when actually it didn’t have to be that complicated,” he said.

“I had friends who reminded me, ‘You’re the best grappler I know,’ and that made me realize I had turned my back on what I always had inside, which was my BJJ skills.”

This epiphany reignited Silva’s confidence in his abilities, and the 37-year-old righted the ship. He refocused on training BJJ, and his efforts were soon rewarded.

In his next match against notable grappler Stefer “The Lion” Rahardian in August 2019, Silva dominated on the ground and finished his Indonesian opponent in the second round with a slick armbar.

Just three months later at ONE: EDGE OF GREATNESS, the BJJ master reminded everyone of his lethal ground skills with an improvised armbar to submit Peng Xue Wen in the second round.

Silva had finally gotten back in his groove and was feeling like his old self.

“Little Rock” has also learned much from his recent experiences, and he now carries those lessons with him every day.

“Now that I’m back and in a great place in my life, I feel happier,” Silva said.

“I used to rush everything, but now I just focus on one day at a time, one match at a time. That is how I earned this title shot.

“BJJ has taught me more than just skills on the ground, it’s also my experience as a competitor, failing and trying again and never giving up. I am grateful for all that has happened, good or bad.”

“All I have to do now is to go to Manila, do what I do best, and win.

Will Silva complete his comeback with a World Title triumph?

To find out, catch ONE Championship’s ONE: FIRE & FURY next Friday, 31 January, in Manila, Philippines.

Download the ONE Super App to catch all the action live and for free.

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