Joshua Silveira: Earning Spot in PFL Championship the Result of a ‘Lifetime of Work’

While it might seem like Joshua Silveira has enjoyed a rapid rise to stardom in Professional Fighters League that isn’t really the case.

Silveira will face Impa Kasanganay in the light heavyweight final at the PFL Championships on Nov. 24 at the Anthem in Washington, D.C. As the son of American Top Team coach Marcus “Conan” Silveira, the former Legacy Fighting Alliance two-division champion has been embedded in the sport from a very young age.

“This is a lifetime of work,” Silveira said during a PFL media day session. “This goes back all the way to career day in elementary school. I was saying cagefighting before MMA was even a phrase. ‘Vale Tudo,’ that’s what I was telling people back in the day. Anything goes, that’s what I want to be. It went from being kind of silly to people to becoming ‘Holy s—t, this guy is actually doing it.’”

Before he became a prospect to watch, Silveira was working hard in the gym, doing what he could to assist the multitude of talented teammates in the Coconut Creek, Florida-based gym.

“I was in line for a long time for this moment, waiting patiently. Waiting for this opportunity, helping a lot of guys,” Silveira said. “Before I was here [in PFL], I was helping a bunch of guys in the UFC, a bunch of guys in Bellator. Helping all sorts of guys from around the country. I’ve paid my dues.

“It feels right. It doesn’t feel like I got here by luck. It feels good.”

“Coninha” began his professional tenure with nine consecutive triumphs before he came up short against UFC veteran Omari Akhmedov in the PFL postseason last year. Silveira admitted that he learned from the defeat, as evidenced by his three first-round finishes to kick off his 2023 PFL campaign. He’s also well aware that his time in MMA is limited.

“[Losses] make you see things from a different perspective,” Silveira said. “Something clicked in me. I’m about to be 31 years old. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’m not going to do this forever. This is a small piece of my life, really, compared to how life really works. I just want to do things correctly, the best way I can.”

If Silveira is able to defeat Kasanganay to become the new PFL light heavyweight champion, it will be the culmination of a lifetime journey. But he’s only just getting started.

“MMA to me is something I found and loved at an early age. A lot of people go through life and find things they love when they’re 30, 40 or 50. I found it at a very young age,” he said. “MMA to me is my life. I love it. My biggest nightmare is not doing this.

“The future is gonna be me just doing this. Sometimes I think I’m not gonna do this forever, hopefully I can find something else I love… but right now I’m just focused. I’m about to be 31. I’d like to fight until I’m 42. I know that’s pushing it but 42’s a nice age. I think I could get some good quality fights, maybe toward the end get some celebrity fights. … I’m excited for the next 10 years of my life fighting MMA. Everything I do in my life is associated with MMA … That’s just how I live my life.”