UFC, KSW alum Jay Silva dead at 45

Longtime MMA pro Jay Silva has died.

Silva, 45, was a two-fight UFC combatant and a former KSW middleweight title challenge. KSW and Silva’s former coach Ed Buckley confirmed the news after an initial post from FAME MMA, the final fighting organization Silva competed for.The cause of death has not been revealed.

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Silva compiled a 12-13-1 pro MMA record over a near 20-year-long fighting career. His two UFC fights came in September 2010 and January 2011 respectively. Silva lost unanimous decisions to CB Dolloway and Chris Leben.

In May 2010, Silva made his Bellator debut and lost to Hector Lombard. He picked up his first Bellator win in May 2011 when he defeated Gimyale Adkins by unanimous decision.

Silva then found himself in the midst of rivalry with Michal Materla under the KSW banner. They competed against each other three times, with the third being the rubber match – for middleweight gold at KSW 26 in March 2014. Though ultimately it was Materla who would top him 2-1 in the head-to-head series lifetime, Silva etched his name in KSW history for the notable trilogy.

For the next 12 years, Silva competed for random promotions – everything from Golden Boy MMA to Bash Boxing and beyond. He most recently competed in an exhibition kickboxing bout in January when he lost to Tomasz Sarara by second-round liver kick TKO.

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Check out a some of the social media tributes for Silva, posted by those who knew him.