On the merits of a stellar first-round ninja choke of Mayana Souza during the Brazilian edition of Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2018, Silva found herself fighting and winning in the UFC just a month later. After dispatching the dangerous Gillian Roberston with a first-round armbar at UFC Sao Paulo, the stage was set for the newcomer to make a thrilling run through the flyweight division.
But although the Robertson fight was less than five minutes, she nonetheless sustained a knee injury that would require surgery, resulting in the longest layoff of her career: nearly 18 months. Fighters sustain injuries all the time, but it had become a recurring theme for Silva, one that plagued her fight after fight until that night in Las Vegas.
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“Almost always I leave the Octagon for the hospital,” she would say that night, “but this time I will celebrate with my team.”
Those happy memories – coupled with the fact she has won both of her previous Las Vegas outings by first-round submission – have her visibly happy to be returning to the Fight Capital of the World. She refers to it as a second home as he looks over at the APEX’s slightly smaller Octagon, and hopes she can recreate her good fortune Saturday against Montana De La Rosa on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Gane.