Jennifer Maia will look to make it three wins in a row as she takes on Viviane Araujo this coming weekend at UFC Vegas 81.
That will be a new feat for the 35-year-old, as in her five-year UFC tenure, she hasn’t been able to string together more than back-to-back victories.
Maia’s last fight was a new experience for her as it was her first career fight in Europe. The last time the Brazilian fought outside of the States was back in 2015. At UFC 286, she pulled off the upset win over Casey O’Neill, who is someone the UFC see’s a lot of potential in.
Her opponent for this weekend, Viviane Araujo, will be looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses, with her last loss coming to Amanda Ribas.
Maia (21-9-1) currently occupies rank nine in the flyweight division, and at the UFC Vegas 81 media day, she mentioned how she believes with a win she should be fighting inside the top five of the rankings. Not only that, but she believes she could be fighting for the title soon.
“I’m excited for this fight because if I win, I want to fight with a top five opponent. I am prepared to fight with the champion soon.”
Maia also offered her opinion on the recent title fight that took place in her division between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.
“I think it was a fair result, thank God I’m not a judge. I think that the judge that gave a 10-8 was in error, but I think at the end of the day, the result was fair.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 81 media day appearance from Jennifer Maia above.
