Joshua Silveira still ‘walking through the fire’ ahead of PFL Chicago co-main event

Joshua Silveira has worn plenty of hats for the Professional Fighters League, from blue-chip prospect and tournament contender to promotional mainstay and grizzled veteran.

The former two-division Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder will put the unbeaten Jordan Newman to the test in his latest assignment, as the two men collide in the PFL Chicago middleweight co-main event on Saturday at Wintrust Arena. Silveira, now 33, has compiled a 6-5 record since he started his career with nine consecutive victories.


“I’ve been through the fire, and I guess there’s still more fire left until the day that you die,” he told Sherdog.com. “As a fighter, you are always walking through the fire. MMA is a weird sport. You’ve got to manage how to learn your lessons without getting too hurt, without having career-ending moments and without getting fired. In this world, there’s only a couple of companies really paying money. It’s a matter of just being consistent, enjoying the good moments and trying to find a way to enjoy and grow out of the bad moments. Unfortunately, that’s where growth comes from. I wish I was undefeated. I wish I never had to lose. MMA is one of those sports.

“When you’re dealing with someone who’s undefeated, sometimes they have to experience losing in fighting,” Silveira added. “That’s a big deal, and a lot of good fighters … they’ve all gone through some sort of situation in life, in and out of the cage. I think that’s how you grow. I’m here today because it’s always been about showing up for me. This is my life. I don’t have a backup plan. This is it for me, so I do everything with a smile on my face, and I embrace it.”

A bantamweight world title fight headlines PFL Chicago: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, April 11 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Silveira finds his motivation at home.

“Me being a family guy nowadays, it just amplifies everything,” he said. “It gives me a more of a reason to do what I do. Before I was just fighting for myself, wanting to be famous and wanting money. Now, life is simple. It’s so much nicer. Less is more, and being around my family and fighting for a purpose now, it just seems so much more clear. I don’t think I would have got here in the beginning stages of my career. You got to go through the fire. That’s the best way to describe it. I’m a man that’s walking through the fire as we speak, and there’s no other way that I would do it.”

Newman enters the cage as the much lesser-known commodity. He sports a perfect 8-0 record and operates out of the Roufusport academy in Milwaukee. Newman, 30, made his organizational debut at 2025 PFL World Tournament 8, where he forced Eslam Abdul Baset Syaha to retire in between the first and second rounds of their Aug. 1 encounter.

“I think he’s just a couple of years younger than me,” Silveira said. “In these types of scenarios, I’m [usually] fighting a really young kid, maybe in his 20s, but Jordan ... we’re part of the same four years of high school, so he’s not that far off from me age-wise. I think it’s more experience-wise. He’s a young guy. He’s never experienced defeat. I take that into consideration, being aware that he’s never been defeated. That’s dangerous, as well, but at the same time, it’s that feeling of walking through the fire. Look at all the great fighters. They all had to walk through the fire at some point.”

Making moves

Silveira still trains out of the star-studded American Top Team camp in Coconut Creek, Florida. It offers him access to a variety of accomplished stablemates and world-class coaches, including his father: Marcus “Conan” Silveira. A downshift to the middleweight division has proven beneficial for him.

“Ever since I moved down to 185, I’m more free with my weight and I’m a little lighter,” Silveira said. “I can move a lot better. There’s a lot of new stuff I’ve been working on.”

The PFL’s decision to forego its tournament format in favor of a more traditional rankings system should, in theory, create more opportunities for fighters like Silveira.

“We’re going to climb the rankings,” he said. “You go on a win streak, you deserve a title shot. I’m not done with fighting, but if I’ve got to go climb the ladder, I don’t care. The gold will come. The gold is supposed to be something that comes with the journey, and this is my journey right now.”