Mayra Bueno Silva sees UFC bantamweight title implications in her fight with Holly Holm.
Bueno Silva (10-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) meets former champion Holm (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) in a UFC Fight Night headliner on July 15 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Bueno Silva thinks the UFC is in dire need of a fresh contender, and she plans on becoming that by stopping Holm.
“When I knock her out, I’m next for the belt,” Bueno Silva told MMA Junkie. “The UFC fans need more respect. Nobody wants to watch Amanda and Julianna Peña anymore. The UFC fans need a new face. Mayra ‘Sheetara’ is the new face, and when I knock her out, I’m next for the belt.”
Holm comes from a boxing background, but Bueno Silva noticed that she’s been incorporating a lot more grappling in recent fights. However, the Brazilian said she’ll have the advantage there too.
“Now she’s improved her game, she’s improved her grappling,” Bueno Silva said. “I think it’s more grappling, but my grappling is better. I think she’ll touch me, touch me, and move, move, move. I think I will knock her out.”
Bueno Silva was initially booked to face another former champion in Miesha Tate, but when Tate withdrew, she wound up getting a much higher-ranked Holm. With four of her five octagon wins coming by finish, Bueno Silva said she earned the big jump in competition.
“I have eight fights in the UFC, (and) I did one bad fight,” Bueno Silva said. “The other fights, everything is Fight of the Night, Performance of the Night, Submission of the Night. This is my moment. I think this happened because I work hard, and I always give good fights for the UFC.”
