Jean Silva is one of the rising stars in the UFC featherweight division but he recently faced criticism for ignoring the tap when choking a fan and putting him to sleep instead of releasing. The interaction starts innocently enough, as the fan is clearly a willing participant and is happy to have Silva lock up a rear-naked choke on him. It isn’t a new phenomenon either, plenty of fans have gotten pictures taken while having submissions applied to them by elite fighters. The difference is that when they tap, the fighter usually lets them go instead of continuing to apply pressure.
It’s not as if he’s the first famous fighter to ignore the tap of course, but usually this is down to some kind of altercation or bad blood. Not that really makes the situation any better, but at least most people understand where the disregard for common safety procedures comes from then. The fact is that the tap is one of the most important elements of Jiu-Jitsu and MMA, as it allows people to be able to trust one another snd push their limits while remaining safe. For most gyms around the world, wilfully ignoring a tap in training can be cause for an immediate ban from the gym.
Accidents happen but at least in Silva’s case, it’s clear that this was no accident. He locks up the rear-naked choke on the fan and squeezes for a few seconds, prompting the fan to start tapping. He starts picking up speed when Silva doesn’t release the choke and he ends up tapping over a dozen times before Silva finally lets him go. He slides down to the floor and comes back around very quickly, standing back up and hugging Silva almost immediately. It’s clear that the fan didn’t mind being put to sleep in the moment and even found it funny, but that didn’t stop fans from criticising Silva for his actions.
The footage of Jean Silva ignoring the tap and choking a fan unconscious was uploaded by the official X account of Championship Rounds:
