‘I slipped!’ Innocent Jean Silva debunks ‘20 videos’ of Noche UFC 4 slap attack

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GLENDALE, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 12: Jean Silva of Brazil reacts after his submission victory over Jose Delgado in their featherweight fight during the Noche UFC event at Desert Diamond Arena on September 12, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Jean Silva is not a psychopath, he’s just clumsy.

The No. 6-ranked featherweight contender stands accused of slapping opponent Jose Delgado in the wake of their Noche UFC 4 main event last weekend in Glendale, following an exciting, back-and-forth brawl that ended with a “Lord” submission in the third round.

So what happened?

“He said he was going to kill the dog, calling it a mask, and nobody said anything,” Silva said on YouTube (via MMA Fighting). “When I got up and started barking in his face, suddenly there were 20 videos saying that I tried to slap him in the face. If you go back and look at my fights, when guys go down semi-conscious, giving up, I never go after them. Westin Wilson was right in front of me [at UFC Vegas 84]. I could have taken his head off with so many elbows, and I didn’t. I asked the referee, and the referee told me to keep going, so I threw elbows to his ribs so I wouldn’t hit him in the head.”

Silva rattled off a cheap shot on Diego Lopes following his Noche UFC 3 loss last fall.

“Do you really think I would slap a guy who was on the ground? ‘Oh, but you did that to Diego [Lopes].’ Man, that’s different,” Silva continued. “He was insulting my team. As long as I’m not dead, I’m going to defend my people. Right there, when I went to bark at [Delgado], he turned around with everything he had, the referee pushed me, I slipped, and it looked like my hand was on his face.”

Referees are the new banana peels.

Silva, 29, improved to 18-3 with the win and could be in the running for the next 145-pound title shot. That all depends on whether or not the promotion would be interested in entertaining the idea of this “Funky” featherweight title eliminator.

For more Noche UFC 4 results and highlights click here.