The second of two women’s bantamweight clashes at UFC Vegas 51 on Saturday found Mayra Bueno Silva and Wu Yanan both looking to return to the win column.
Brazil’s Silva, a.k.a. “Sheetara,” was 2-2-1 in the promotion overall, and entering off an October loss to Manon Fiorot. She was also returning to bantamweight for the first time since prior to her UFC debut.
Yanan, from Chaoyang, China, had lost two straight, both via decision — most recently to Joselyne Edwards.
Silva opened the fight with a kick, but Yanan answered with a kick of her own and a short combo. Several of her combinations early were punctuated with kicks in fact. Yanan was the more active fighter early, coming at angles and constantly moving. Silva fired a spinning kick, but hit air. Yanan moved in, landed, and moved back out. Silva landed a low kick. Silva then moved in, backing Yanan up to the fence and unloaded! Yanan was rocked, and went down, though it was hard to tell if she was dropped, or just pushed over. In any case, she was back up to her feet a moment later, and the pair squared off again.
The momentum, however, had shifted in Silva’s favor. As the round progressed, Silva chopped away at Yanan’s lead leg. As active and mobile as Yanan was, those kicks looked as if they stung. Silva went to the body, worked her jab, then fired off a body kick. In the final minute, the Brazilian closed the distance, and tagged Yanan again. She finished the round strong with another right hand.
In the second, Silva fired her right hand, while Yanan fanned on a spinning back fist. Silva was steadily walking her opponent down, but two minutes or so in, Yanan was able to get the fight down. Problem being, Silva had a triangle locked in. She couldn’t keep it in, and Yanan pulled free — then stood back, contemplating whether to wade into danger against the Brazilian on the ground, or to let her opponent back up, where Silva was also winning.
Eventually, Yanan got on top, only to have to contend with a Silva kimura attempt. Silva would eventually work her way up, threatening a takedown of her own, while Yanan landed a few elbows.
Round two was a closer round than the first, which had clearly been Silva’s frame. The third opened with a front kick taking Silva off her feet; she was right back up. The pair traded back and forth, lefts, rights, jabs, kicks. Silva began to press in the second half of the frame, but Yanan landed to the body with a kick. Yanan looked fresher, but Silva still had some power. Silva launched a spinning back fist, which just landed. In the final minute, Silva waved her opponent forward. Yanan declined, continuing to fight smart, though it wasn’t enough in the end.
👊 Trading punches through the rounds. These two brought their diverse skillsets to #UFCVegas51. pic.twitter.com/T6GWIzjqg8
— UFC (@ufc) April 17, 2022
Official Result: Mayra Bueno Silva def. Wu Yanan by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
