Jason Saggo (photo via Twitter / Getty)

By Kelsey Mowatt

Jason Saggo will battle Leandro “Buscape” Silva at UFC FN 89, and the lightweight’s hoping to turn even more heads his way, following his impressive win over Justin Salas.

The Wulfrun MMA fighter took on Salas this past March at UFC 196, and while showcasing his BJJ black belt pedigree, stopped him in round one. In Silva, Saggo won’t be facing a top ranked contender, but the Brazilian is rising up the ranks after going undefeated in four straight fights. As a  result, Saggo keenly understands how important this Saturday’s bout is.

“Ya, I think if, when I beat him, he’s a 19-3 fighter…so, he’s definitely got a lot of experience, he’s beaten some good guys, and he’s also fought, he’s got a  win at 170 in the UFC too,” Saggo relayed on a recent episode of Full Contact Fighter Radio. “So he’s beaten guys at a high level in the UFC in a higher weight class.”

Silva made his Octagon debut back in 2014, and lost to Francisco Trinaldo by split decision. Since then, “Buscape” has scored wins over Charlie Brenneman, Lewis Gonzalez and most recently Efrain Escudero. He also had a no-contest result against Drew Dober (the fight was initially declared a submission win for Silva, but because Dober never tapped, the result was overturned).

“It’s certainly a very tough opponent and I’m training very hard, I’m training seriously, and we’ve put together a solid game plan for the night of the fight, June 18th.” said Saggo (11-2), who dropped a split decision to Paul Felder before fight Salas. “I think when I beat him it will propel me into, I would say, top 25 guys in the UFC, and my next opponent would be top 25.”

“It’s a very competitive division,” added Saggo, who has gone 2-1 in the Octagon to date and also holds a stoppage win over Josh Shockley under the UFC banner. “The 155 division is very stacked. There’s so many killers inside of that division…”

And what approach is Saggo expecting Silva to take when they throw down this Saturday?

“If you watch his fights he’s quite a balanced fighter. He’s not overly aggressive, he’s not overly defensive, he’s kind of back-and-forth a lot, so I see him following a similar game plan. I know he likes to body lock, he likes to get his hands together and attempt body lock takedowns and we’ve been working a lot on defending, and working out of those bad situations. Also implementing my own strategy, my own game plan, my own offense and my own combinations. I think it’s going to be an interesting fight…”

UFC FN 89 will be hosted by the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario. In the main event, Rory MacDonald will take on fellow welterweight contender, Stephen Thompson.