With 17 finishes among her 18 wins, flyweight Karine Silva had proven herself a real threat at 125lbs, and was getting a step up against Viviane Araujo at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Silva came in ranked #11, and fellow Brazilian Araujo #9 in the weight class.
“Killer” Silva wore an intense look, poised to burst out of her corner at the start of the fight. She looked to walk Araujo down, while Araujo countered and circled away from Silva’s right hand. Silva fired a lot kick and looked to clinch up, but Araujo jogged back out of range. Silva fired a front kick that just missed as her opponent retreated.
Late in the round, Silva let rip with a couple of clubbing right hands that connected, and sent Araujo reeling. She didn’t go down, but beat a hasty retreat, clearly hurt after an otherwise competitive round.
Araujo was sporting a bloodied nose early in the second, forcing her to breath through her mouth. Silva began to hunt her opponent down, letting her hands go with Araujo against the fence. A takedown followed, Silva ending up on top in guard. With a little over two minutes still on the clock, Silva had time to work, but it was Araujo locking on an arm-bar! Silva managed to change sides after Araujo went belly down, escaping the submission. Silva then set up a d’arce choke from the bottom, but Araujo was able to slip out.
The fight went to the ground just 30 seconds into the final frame, with Karine Silva trying to force a takedown only to end up on her back. Araujo had side control, then backed off and let Silva back up. Silva continued coming forward from there, at times flashing repeated front kicks that missed, and later getting dumped by Araujo off one. In a close fight and close round, Silva appeared to be fading. Araujo circled, and mixed in low kicks; when Silva tried to close the distance, Araujo practically pushed her to her knees. An exhausted Silva went after a takedown again, but couldn’t get Araujo down. Instead, it was Araujo landing a sloppy throw just prior to the final horn.
Official Result: Viviane Araujo def. Karine Silva by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
