New York City — Brazilian flyweight Viviane Araujo has been out of action since February, a longer break than the 37-year old known as “Vivi” had anticipated.
Booked into a fight with Jasmine Jasudavicius over the summer, Araujo (12-6) had been forced out due to a knee injury, something she addressed during Wednesday’s UFC 309 media day, ahead of her return against Karine Silva.
“Feeling great. After my most recent fight, I had an injury, I had sustained some injuries and I had some damage to the meniscus,” explained Araujo, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “Had to get surgery, recover, spent some time in Vegas recovering at the P.I. Had to pull out of that fight against Jasmine that was going to happen in July if I’m not mistaken.”
“Now, I’ve had the time to recover and regroup, and I feel very ready for this fight on Saturday.”
As serious as knee injuries can be for professional athletes, Araujo felt her recovery went well, perhaps faster than anticipated
“The injuries obviously [happened] in the fight against Natalia [Silva, on Feb. 3, 2024]. I actually had a pretty quick recovery, I feel it was very quick, recovery was going very fast,” explained Araujo. “I just didn’t feel ready, I was not 100% ready for the fight against Jasmine. That’s why I had to pull out. But as soon as that time passed, we already scheduled a fight against Karine, and I was ready.”
Fighting another Silva, Karine Silva, at UFC 309, Araujo sees the bout as the chance to remind the organization where she sits.
“To me, it’s an opportunity to show the organization where I belong to. I know that I’m on her way to the top, and for me to get to the top five. I know that she wants to go through me to go up, but I’m not going to let that happen,” she stated.
While Araujo has been out of action longer than hoped due to injury, the time off coincided with a big change at home. Motherhood is on the horizon for Viviane Araujo.
“There’s some cool things that are happening in my personal life. So my wife is pregnant, we actually went through the process. We did it, she’s actually eight months pregnant. So many good things in my life, and we’re just focused on things and that’s what’s happening.”
Watch the full UFC 309 media day appearance by Viviane Araujo above.
