PFL veteran Josh Silveira has a new purpose in life after the birth of his first child Lua. With his heart full of joy and a few gray hairs, the 33-year-old battles undefeated Jordan Newman in the co-main event of PFL Chicago on April 11 with a different mindset and goal.
Silveira took some time off to properly enjoy the first months after his baby was born, living life at its fullest before shifting his focus back to his athletic career. Lua’s first birthday is a month after PFL Chicago and he plans to have more reasons to celebrate, but parenting has given him a new perspective of things.
“At the end of the day it’s good for my life, you know?” Silveira told MMA Fighting. “Life isn’t just fighting. I’m a father, I have a family, so it was good to be present in those moments. And she’s only going to be a baby once, right? When she grows up she’ll have friends, she’ll forget about me [laughs]. Right now she’s my best friend — I’m her only friend [laughs]. She likes being around people. I don’t want to miss that part not being here, because I was training.”
Silveira grew up in a martial arts environment. Son of American Top Team leader Conan Silveira, he always had “big dreams for myself like winning, becoming a champion.” At 33, Silveira realized there’s more than that in life.
“For my parents too, of course, I want to do well for them, but it was always my dream,” Silveira said. “Now with her in my life, it feels like it boosts my dream, you know? I want to do so much more. Now I have a much more serious reason. I want to do everything not just for her, but for my family, for the future, to change the level where my family is. I’m doing something I love — I really love MMA — and I’m doing good things for my family and I’m becoming a better human being. I’m growing in all the areas where I want to grow in life.”
Lua has yet to turn 1 year old but Silveira is already dreaming of having another “little human” around him at home. For now, though, the goal is being the best parent he can — and walking through Jordan Newman to get paid in full at PFL Chicago.
Newman is a 8-0 prospect patiently built under the Bellator banner, winning seven bouts in that promotion before stopping Eslam Abdul Baset in his first PFL appearance. They are about the same age, but Silveira looks at his MMA experience, having twice more fights, as a big advantage.
“I’ve asked for big fights, I’ve cried, I’ve been broken, I’ve gotten back up and kept moving forward,” Silveira said. “Fight life isn’t just happiness. There are parts that really suck, your mind working against you. I’m not saying anything about his life, but just in fighting, I don’t think he’s felt that yet. Sometimes you grow more when you lose. I’m happy to be facing him while he’s undefeated because I can give him something that will only make him better when it happens. I don’t want to fight him later, you know? People come back stronger after their first loss, they learn things, so I’m going to take advantage of the fact that he hasn’t felt that yet.”
Newman, nicknamed “Not Human,” scored finishes in five of his eight professional bouts with three knockouts and two submissions.
“I think he’ll try to use his wrestling when I put pressure on him,” Silveira said. “But he’ll get tired and he will face problems, and I’ll have a lot of answers. He’ll either give me the opening to finish the fight or he’ll just let me beat him and I win by decision. I’m not in a hurry.”
Silveira is not in a hurry for a finish Saturday, nor for a long-awaited shot at the PFL middleweight title. A former light heavyweight season finalist in 2023, he just walks one step at a time now.
“I like the belt, I want the belt, that’s always the focus, but I’m a father, I have a family. I just want to work,” Silveira said. “If they want to give me two, three, four fights and then the title, no problem. I just want to win. I’m in a good place mentally. I just want to work. I’m not here for a long time. I’m 33, turning 34 this year, and I don’t have much time left to fight. I don’t want to work after fighting [laughs]. If I have to, I will, but I don’t want to, you know?
“I want to enjoy life, stay at home, take care of my plants, have chickens. I want to be a farmer, you know? So for me, if the belt comes [next], great. If they want to wait, no problem. When the time comes to fight for the belt, I’ll fight, but I’m not in a rush. I know I’ve got one shot in this run and I have to make it count. I don’t want to waste my shot when it’s not the right moment.”
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