Sparring partners Dovlet Yagshimuradov and Josh Silveira could seriously battle it out en route to a spot in the PFL Championship.
Miami native Silveira is looking to rematch last year’s $1 million light heavyweight final when he faces Impa Kasanganay in his hometown this Friday, while his American Top Team teammate Yagshimuradov will face 2022 champion Rob Wilkinson.
The pair regularly engage in tough sparring sessions in the gym, but would have to split their training camps if they both win this weekend. And in an exclusive chat with Bloody Elbow, the pair revealed what the plan will be should they challenge for the title.
Josh Silveira believes he will have to face teammate Dovlet Yagshimuradov in the PFL final
In the second round of fights, Josh Silveira faced Australian Rob Wilkinson and, despite a narrow loss, ended up getting the rematch he so desperately wanted against Impa Kasanganay. And while he could face a number of rematches should Wilkinson advance, he is backing Yagshimuradov.
“Rob is fighting my teammate and I want my teammate to win, don’t get me wrong,” he explained. “In the PFL, this is my third champion in a row, Sadibou Sy, Rob Wilkinson and Impa, here we go. They made (Bellator vs. PFL) champs vs champs, what about the guy who’s fighting all the champs for fuck’s sake?”
Dovlet Yagshimuradov does not want to comment on sparring stories ahead of a possible showdown with Josh Silveira
Silveira and Yagshimuradov are two of the best light heavyweights at American Top Team, one of America’s most prestigious gyms. They regularly face each other in the training room, although it is unclear who has the upper hand.
“I don’t care who advances from this fight because no matter who wins, I’m going to fight them,” he explained through an interpreter. “It’s going to be awkward (if I have to fight Josh Silveira) because we’re sparring.”
“In fact, sparring is sometimes harder than a real fight. I was talking to him about it recently.
“I basically said, ‘If I advance and you advance, then there will be the final and we’ll swap sparring partners.’ So we discussed how we would share sparring partners and divide our schedule.
However, he declined to comment on how the fight would go based on their training sessions together, adding: “Sparring is very different from fighting. When you fight, many factors come into play.”
“Your concentration, your stamina, your psychological attitude. All of that plays a role and you really don’t know how a person is going to react when they actually fight because it’s an extreme situation. So I can’t tell you how we’re going to behave, but the cage will tell.”
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