was expected to face returning veteran Nate Loughran on February 15, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 36. However, Loughran was forced out of the bout with an injury. Silva instead faced promotional newcomer Takenori Sato. He won the fight via TKO early in the first round. The win also earned him one of the first UFC Performance of the Night bonus awards. Silva faced Matt Brown in the main event at UFC Fight Night 40. He lost the fight via TKO due to punches in the third round. Despite the loss, Silva was given a Fight of the Night bonus award for his performance. Silva faced Mike Rhodes on December 20, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 58. He won the fight by technical submission in the first round. The win also earned Silva his second Performance of the Night bonus award. Silva was expected to face Ben Saunders on March 21, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 62. However, on March 6, Saunders was forced from the fight citing an injury and was replaced by Josh Koscheck. Silva won the fight by submission in the first round. Silva was expected to face Rick Story on June 27, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 70. However, Silva was removed from the card on June 19, after visa issues restricted his entry to the United States. In turn, Story was removed from the card as well. The bout with Story was rescheduled and was expected to take place on August 23, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 74. Subsequently, Story pulled out of the bout on August 11 citing injury and was replaced by Neil Magny. Silva lost the fight via split decision. On March 5, 2016, Silva faced Nordine Taleb at UFC 196 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round. During the opening round, Silva extended his fist to Taleb to touch gloves in a sign of sportsmanship, but immediately landed a right hook as Taleb attempted to reciprocate it and respond to Silva's gesture. Taleb called the move dirty in a post-fight interview and stated he knew Silva was a "dirty" fighter. He received heavy criticism from fans and media and later apologized on his Twitter account, releasing a statement and admitting it was "unethical". After the loss, Silva decided to establish his own fight team, Tiger's Den MMA, to be closer to