Mayra Bueno Silva Defeats Holly Holm via Ninja Choke

Mayra Bueno Silva posted the biggest win of her career last night in Las Vegas, as she defeated the former UFC bantamweight champ, Holly Holm. The Brazilian forced her rival to tap at 38 seconds of the second round, thus significantly improving her status in the division and the organization.

After four straight wins, three via finishes, Silva is now one of the most likely title contenders, and following the bout, she called out the former champion, Julianna Pena, suggesting that the two should settle on who is the best 135-pounder in the UFC.

“I want that belt. I deserve it. Nobody finishes like me. Hey, Julianna Peña, let’s go. I deserve this; you deserve this, the people deserve this.”

MAYRA BUENO SILVA NINJA CHOKE TO SUBMIT HOLLY HOLM #UFCVegas77 pic.twitter.com/UbUoFTlPAE

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) July 16, 2023

The fight opened with Holm trying to impose her own pace, constantly trying to crack Silva’s defense with stiff jabs and hooks. She would even press the rival to the fence but couldn’t do anything noticeable. When Silva broke free, she began punishing Holm with strong punches and even had one extremely hard elbow.

The second round started with Holm trying to take the business down to the mat, but that came back at her like a boomerang because Silva quickly flipped the momentum, managing to deliver a ninja choke on Holm, who had no other solution but to tap.

“I finish fights and give a show to everybody,” Silva stated. “This is my belt. This is Brazil’s belt. I’ll do this for Amanda Nunes, for my country, for everybody.”

As stated, this was her fourth triumph in a row, previously defeating Wu Yanan, Stephanie Egger, Lina Lansberg, and now Holm. It will be interesting to see what happens with the bantamweight division, as we now have several fighters bidding for the title. The no.1 following Nunes’ retirement is Germaine de Randamie; Penna comes second, while Raquel Pennington sits third. Ketlen Vieira and Irene Aldana are also in the mix, and it is up to Dana White and the management to decide which way to go.

With this win, Silva put her name in all the title talks, while on the other side, Holm’s glory is slowly fading away. She lost to Ketlen Vieira before beating Yana Santos, but this second loss in the past three fights is something that hurts her plans for the future. It appears that age finally caught up with Holm.

Mayra Bueno Silva literally couldn't contain her laughter when asked about Julianna Peña's tweet. 😂

"I will smash you. … Oh, Julianna. Shut up."#UFCVegas77 | Full video: https://t.co/sZjDBPMSc2 pic.twitter.com/XMSFKnnC4m

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) July 16, 2023

In other fights, Jack Della Maddalena barely escaped death as he defeated Bassil Hafez via split decision. Hafez took the fight on short notice and impressed everyone. In the end, the judges scored 29-28, 29-28 for Della Maddalena and 29-28 for Hafez.

“I did expect (him to be so tough),” Della Maddalena said. “The guy with such a big opportunity o come out here and bring the fight.

It is always tough for fighters to prepare when facing a rival on short notice, and it is the same now. Della Maddalena had problems in the opening rounds adjusting to Hafez’s pace and style, but as time went by, he managed to find some balance.

In other fights, Junyoung Park was better than Albert Duraev via rear naked choke submission in the second round. The lightweight bout between Francisco Prado and Pttman Azaitar ended with a first-round TKO as Prado trashed his rival.

In the ladies’ featherweight battle, Norma Dumont was better than Chelsea Chandler, with her defeating the American via unanimous decision.