Kevin Vallejos looking to leapfrog Jean Silva for UFC featherweight title shot
Kevin Vallejos is determined to convince the UFC that he should be favored for a featherweight title fight over his former foe Jean Silva.
Argentina's Kevin Vallejos is eager to prove the MMA world right by breathing life into the Ilia Topuria comparisons by earning a UFC featherweight title fight. In fact, he is aiming to earn a shot at the belt before Jean Silva, who he once faced on Dana White's Contender Series.
Kevin Vallejos eyes UFC championship gold
Noche UFC 4 recently lost its highly anticipated main event after a Yair Rodriguez injury forced him out of his featherweight fight with Jean Silva. Now, the Brazilian knockout artist will take on short-notice replacement Jose Delgado. He also recently claimed to have placed his trust in UFC CBO Hunter Campbell regarding what awaits him if he wins. However, it won't be a title shot, at least if Kevin Vallejos has anything to say about it. The heavy-handed Argentinian recently took to X with a post, swearing to earn a title shot before Silva ever does.
"WE get the title shot first..."
Unfortunately for Vallejos, he may be ranked too low to snatch a potential title shot from under Silva's nose. The Meta UFC rankings have him at #10, while the media panel ranks him at #9. Silva, by contrast, is ranked #6 by both. To make matters worse, Silva has a fairly dominant win over Vallejos, having beaten him via unanimous decision at Dana White's Contender Series 61 back in 2023. One factor that's in Vallejos' favor is the win streak he's on. Since the loss to Silva, Vallejos has won seven straight fights, with just one decision. Furthermore, four of those wins took place in the UFC, with his two most recent wins being a second-round TKO of Giga Chikadze at UFC Vegas 112, and a first-round TKO of Josh Emmett at UFC Vegas 114.
Silva, unfortunately, is just one fight removed from his crushing second-round TKO loss to Diego Lopes, who he faced at Noche UFC 3. He defeated Arnold Allen via unanimous decision at UFC 324 and will hope to string together a win streak when he faces Delgado at Noche UFC 4 on Sep. 12. However, if he emerges victorious, he will likely need one more win, and one over a respected name, before he earns a title shot.
