Silva was born in the Brazilian city ofRondonópolis, He is a son of Claudiu Vitega and Fabio Paixao, he was raised during his youth in Minas Gerais. He began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the tutelage of Elan Santiago at the age of 18. He started training mixed martial arts in 2005 and moved to Italy where he lived for a time with an aunt before moving to the Greater London area of England in 2007 in an effort to refine his jiu-jitsu.
Silva turned professional in late 2007, competing at both middleweight and welterweight, primarily for regional promotions in England where he compiled a record of 9 – 1 before signing with the UFC in late 2013.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Silva made his promotional debut against Brad Scott on 8 March 2014 at UFC Fight Night 37. Silva won the fight via unanimous decision. Silva was expected to face Neil Magny in a welterweight bout on 28 June 2014 at UFC Fight Night 43. However, Silva was forced from the bout due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Rodrigo Goiana de Lima. Silva made his return to the welterweight division and faced Leon Edwards on 8 November 2014 at UFC Fight Night 56. Despite being out-landed on the feet, Silva was able to take Edwards down and obtain dominant positions, repeatedly threatening with submission attempts. Silva defeated Edwards via split decision. Silva was scheduled to face Nordine Taleb on 25 April 2015 at UFC 186. However, Silva pulled out of the bout with a broken foot and was replaced by Chris Clements. Silva was expected to face Siyar Bahadurzada on 30 July 2016 at UFC 201. However, Silva was forced out of the bout in mid-June with an injury and replaced by Jorge Masvidal. After an extended hiatus due in part to a litany of lingering injury issues, Silva returned to face Nordine Taleb on 27 May 2018 at UFC Fight Night 130. Silva won the fight via first round rear-naked choke submission. This win earned him a Performance of the Night award. Silva was expected to face Ramazan Emeev on 15 September 2018 at UFC Fight Night 136. However, Silva pulled out of the fight in early-September citing a lower back injury. Silva faced Danny Roberts on 16 March 2019 at UFC Fight Night 147. He won the fight via an armbar submission in the third round. The bout with Emeev was rescheduled and was expected to take place on 3 August 2019 at UFC on ESPN 5. In turn, Emeev was removed from this event due to alleged visa issues, that restricted his travel to the United States. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Cole Williams. At the weigh-ins, Williams weighed in at 176 pounds, 5 pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit of 171. As a result Williams was fined 30 percent of his purse, and the bout proceeded at a catchweight. Silva won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.
