Jean Silva has rapidly become a favorite amongst the UFC fanbase, however, after bizarre footage surfaced online earlier this week, he has been heavily criticized.
This past April at UFC 314, Jean Silva picked up the biggest win of his career thus far when he submitted grappling expert Bryce Mitchell, showcasing his well-rounded skillset.
‘Lord’ Silva has been declared as a future featherweight champion by UFC icon, Joe Rogan, who was in attendance for the Brazilian’s impressive win over ‘Thugnasty’.
Since then, Silva has pleaded for a featherweight title shot, being one of the only top 145lb contenders that champion, Alexander Volkanovski hasn’t fought yet.
Jean Silva shockingly chokes fan to sleep in bizarre footage
As well as being an exciting fighter inside the cage, Silva is a favorite amongst the fans because of his antics outside of the cage.
However, earlier this week, the 28-year-old could have tarnished his reputation after he choked a fan to sleep despite the fan’s multiple attempts to make him stop by tapping.
After receiving a lot of criticism from the fans, Silva deleted the video from his social media.
“This is weird, let go on the tap,” one fan commented on the footage.
“Wow, what a thug he was clearly tapping and he didn’t let go,” another fan said.
“This behaviour is extremely weird. Needs to be cut from the roster,” a third fan reacted.
“What the f— is wrong with Jean Silva,” another fan reacted.
It is unknown whether the fan who was choked unconscious asked for Silva to put him to sleep, however, after tapping several times, it may have been expected for the Brazilian to let go of the choke.
Jean Silva responds to criticism from fans
In typical Silva fashion, he responded to the criticism he has received, with fans even calling for the UFC to cut him for his antics.
“I don’t like Jean. He’s a genius inside the Octagon. But outside of it he seems like a real jerk,” another fan said.
“Turn off the TV, turn off your radio, throw away your cell phone, stop looking at any media. Because I’m going to be everywhere and you’re going to have to watch me! If you don’t like it, you know what to do!” Silva responded to the criticism.
Unfortunately, Silva’s comments weren’t what fans were hoping for as he doesn’t seem to be apologetic for his bizarre antics.