Two of the highest featherweight prospects within the UFC are set to throw down early subsequent 12 months. Making his first look of 2025, the swiftly rising Jean Silva (14-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) goes head-to-head with Armenian-born striker Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at UFC Combat Night time 245 this February. Driving the momentum from a rip-roaring efficiency versus Drew Dober this previous July, Silva has the possibility to additional his place up the 145-lb ladder after a busy 2024. For Baghdasaryan, getting his hand raised will probably be an important second for him since struggling a protracted interval of inactivity stretching over 500 days on the time of this writing.
Silva Seems to be to Construct Off of Good 2024 Slate
Coming off an outstanding unanimous resolution win over Kevin Vallejos (a person who was then a two division champion in a special promotion) final 12 months on Dana White’s Contender Sequence, Silva has since gone on to develop into a notable fan-favorite fighter inside the firm, in addition to a prolific finisher. Kicking off his 2024 run with a thunderous first-round knockout of Westin Wilson, the Brazilian loved a completely productive summer season season. Within the span of lower than a month, “Lord” introduced down Charles Jourdain (changing into the primary man to cease him through KO/TKO) at UFC 303, and in addition took dwelling the largest win of his profession in opposition to Drew Dober up a weight class at UFC on ESPN 59.
DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 13: (L-R) Jean Silva of Brazil punches Drew Dober in a light-weight struggle throughout the UFC Combat Night time occasion at Ball Enviornment on July 13, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (Picture by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC through Getty Photos)
Melsik Baghdasaryan Again for First Time in 19 Months
In the meantime, Baghdasaryan has been noticeably absent from the cage this 12 months, having not competed in any respect since July 2023 when he turned away Tucker Lutz UFC Combat Night time: Holm vs. Bueno Silva. Whereas he was scheduled for 3 totally different bouts in 2024 reverse William Gomis, Hyder Amil, and Muhammad Naimov, “The Gun” simply couldn’t appear to make it the present, as accidents and opponent withdraws stored him perpetually on the sidelines. This may make his scrap with Silva his first contest in nearly two years, a time the place the Combating Nerds product has already racked up 4 straight wins.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 15: (L-R) Melsik Baghdasaryan of Armenia punches Tucker Lutz of their featherweight struggle throughout the UFC Combat Night time at UFC APEX on July 15, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Picture by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC through Getty Photos)
For the returning Baghdasaryan, it would absolutely be an exciting second to lastly have the ability to step again onto the grandest stage in all of fight sports activities. Nevertheless, he will certainly have the hardest check of his UFC tenure, up to now, when he faces the always-dangerous Silva, a competitor who has not misplaced a bout since 2018. Both manner, blended martial arts followers around the globe will undoubtedly be left on the sting of their seats as two of the very best unranked strikers conflict for his or her alternative to maneuver additional up the totem pole within the highly-competitive featherweight class.
The pairing joins a stacked struggle card in Seattle, which presently consists of such thrilling matchups like Ketlen Vieira vs. Macy Chiasson, Edson Barboza vs. Steve Garcia, and Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez.
