Eventually, though, Viana and her team arrived in Las Vegas, and she was able to tip the scales under the strawweight limit during official weigh-ins.
“I kept focused,” Viana told UFC.com. “Despite all the problems, we went to a hotel, and I was training there. We looked for a gym and I kept training.”
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Before the complications, Viana was already on-edge heading into fight week.
The 30-year-old is eager to bounce back from a disappointing decision loss to Tabatha Ricci in May 2022, and she hopes an adjusted mindset will help her find a path to victory.
“Everyone knows we should never leave it in the hands of the judges, but I’ve also learned that a lot of people fight (just) to get the win, and they know all the rules by heart,” Viana said. “I thought it was going to be a more exciting fight, that she’d come forward and that it’d be more fast-paced, which would have meant a win for me, but she kept stalling and you all saw what happened.”