Natalia Silva
Brazil
Barely gets past Rose Namajunas
Silva defeated Rose Namajunas via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC 324 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Silva stepped in on short notice for Alexa Grasso here and almost paid dearly for it. In fact, she probably should have. Natalia did next to nothing for the first two rounds and the only reason the fight wasn't over at that point was because Namajunas was equally ineffective in Round 1. Silva did pick in the pace in Round 3 and dominated the entire frame, but it very well could have been too little too late. As is, Natalia has now won 14 fights in a row including each of her first eight with the UFC. For what it's worth, the last five victories have come via decision. The Brazilian once again has a claim to be next in line for Valentina Shevchenko's UFC Women's Flyweight Championship.
Silva stepped in on short notice for Alexa Grasso here and almost paid dearly for it. In fact, she probably should have. Natalia did next to nothing for the first two rounds and the only reason the fight wasn't over at that point was because Namajunas was equally ineffective in Round 1. Silva did pick in the pace in Round 3 and dominated the entire frame, but it very well could have been too little too late. As is, Natalia has now won 14 fights in a row including each of her first eight with the UFC. For what it's worth, the last five victories have come via decision. The Brazilian once again has a claim to be next in line for Valentina Shevchenko's UFC Women's Flyweight Championship.
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Steps in to face Namajunas
Silva will take on Rose Namajunas in a flyweight bout at UFC 324 on Jan. 24, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Silva steps in on short notice to face Namajunas, who was initially scheduled to fight Alexa Grasso, who has pulled out for undisclosed reasons. Silva is a perfect 7-0 in the UFC and just so happens to have most recently defeated Grasso herself back in May via unanimous decision.
Silva steps in on short notice to face Namajunas, who was initially scheduled to fight Alexa Grasso, who has pulled out for undisclosed reasons. Silva is a perfect 7-0 in the UFC and just so happens to have most recently defeated Grasso herself back in May via unanimous decision.
Another win, title shot next?
Silva defeated Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at UFC 315 on Saturday in Montreal.
ANALYSIS
Silva has now defeated a pair of former UFC champions -- Grasso and Jessica Andrade -- in a span of eight months without dropping a single round in the process. This performance was a thing of beauty. Recognizing her advantage in terms of both hand and foot speed, Silva simply kept circling and dismantled Grasso with counter shots. It was a smart game plan that was executed to perfection. Now 7-0 in the UFC with wins over Grasso, Andrade, and rising contender Jasmine Jasudavicius, Silva has a real argument to be next in line for the winner of this evening's UFC Women's Flyweight Championship fight between title holder Valentina Shevchenko and challenger Manon Fiorot.
Silva has now defeated a pair of former UFC champions -- Grasso and Jessica Andrade -- in a span of eight months without dropping a single round in the process. This performance was a thing of beauty. Recognizing her advantage in terms of both hand and foot speed, Silva simply kept circling and dismantled Grasso with counter shots. It was a smart game plan that was executed to perfection. Now 7-0 in the UFC with wins over Grasso, Andrade, and rising contender Jasmine Jasudavicius, Silva has a real argument to be next in line for the winner of this evening's UFC Women's Flyweight Championship fight between title holder Valentina Shevchenko and challenger Manon Fiorot.
Next fight scheduled
Silva will face off against Alexa Grasso at UFC 315 on May 10, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Silva will face off against Alexa Grasso in May as she continues to turn heads within the fighting community. The 28-year-old Brazilian fighter is a perfect 6-0 during her time with the UFC.
Silva will face off against Alexa Grasso in May as she continues to turn heads within the fighting community. The 28-year-old Brazilian fighter is a perfect 6-0 during her time with the UFC.
Rise to top continues
Silva defeated Jessica Andrade via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
With all due respect to the likes of Viviane Araujo and Andrea Lee, this was the biggest win of Silva's professional career by a wide margin, and she did it in impressive fashion. It took Natalia a little while to figure out the aggressiveness of Andrade, but once she did, this fight wasn't close. Silva had an overwhelming speed edge on the feet, and that led to her nearly doubling up Andrade in terms of total strikes landed (119-62). Natalia didn't spend virtually any time in a compromising position and appeared aware of her surroundings at all times. Now a perfect 6-0 in the company, the 27-year-old Brazilian stands a darn good chance of competing for a UFC title at some point in the next 12-18 months. In the meantime, she'll walk away with a $50,000 bonus after this matchup was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
With all due respect to the likes of Viviane Araujo and Andrea Lee, this was the biggest win of Silva's professional career by a wide margin, and she did it in impressive fashion. It took Natalia a little while to figure out the aggressiveness of Andrade, but once she did, this fight wasn't close. Silva had an overwhelming speed edge on the feet, and that led to her nearly doubling up Andrade in terms of total strikes landed (119-62). Natalia didn't spend virtually any time in a compromising position and appeared aware of her surroundings at all times. Now a perfect 6-0 in the company, the 27-year-old Brazilian stands a darn good chance of competing for a UFC title at some point in the next 12-18 months. In the meantime, she'll walk away with a $50,000 bonus after this matchup was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
Fighting Andrade in September
Silva will take on Jessica Andrade at a UFC event in Las Vegas on September 7, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Silva will put her undefeated UFC record on the line against the veteran Andrade in Las Vegas in September. The younger Silva will head into the fight riding an 11-fight win streak across promotions, most recently coming off a decision victory over Viviane Araujo. Silva will be tested against the experience of Andrade, though Silva will surely hope to use a size and reach advantage to her benefit in the bout.
Silva will put her undefeated UFC record on the line against the veteran Andrade in Las Vegas in September. The younger Silva will head into the fight riding an 11-fight win streak across promotions, most recently coming off a decision victory over Viviane Araujo. Silva will be tested against the experience of Andrade, though Silva will surely hope to use a size and reach advantage to her benefit in the bout.