‘Hannibal’ Silva Shares How Move to ATT Inspired Him Ahead of UFC London

Claudio Silva will look to halt a two-bout skid when he faces Nicolas Dalby at UFC London on Saturday.

The London-based Brazilian known as “Hannibal” recently considered calling it quits but instead looked to American Top Team for motivation, and he found it in the form of training partner Francisco Trinaldo.

“What I did differently was train at ATT. I hurt my knee; I even thought about stopping fighting and return to England. Conan [Silveira] and ‘Parrumpinha’ told me to stay there with them,” Silva said. “And then I saw ‘Massaranduba,’ 43 years old, training hard, and you can't help but be inspired. It was hard to be away from the family, but it was good to train at ATT. It’s a fighting university there.”

  The 39-year-old Silva praised his teammate, who is coming off a victory against Danny Roberts at UFC 274 this past May.

“I went to talk to ‘Massaranduba,’ and I thanked him for training, and said that seeing him like this would lead me to fight until I'm 43 too,” Silva said. “Then he said I was too young to think about retirement, that I was too tough. Hearing that from him made me believe in my potential.”

  Prior to his two-fight skid, Silva authored a 14-bout winning streak that included five triumphs in UFC competition. He owns a notable win against Leon Edwards, who is set to challenge for welterweight gold at UFC 278. Dalby, his opponent at UFC London, was unbeaten in his previous seven fights before falling to Tim Means in his last outing.

“There are no [easy fights] in the UFC,” Silva said. “He’s tough, he's got a heart. I expect a great fight because I'm well prepared, I was tested a lot in training, and I'm very motivated. I want to have a devastating victory and show that I’m a new fighter.”