While her coach would later reveal that medication for a benign tumor and a new nutritionist were at least partially to blame, Ariane Da Silva badly blew weight for her fight with Wang Cong at Saturday’s UFC 316.
The flyweight bout should have gone no higher than 126lbs, but a 132lb catchweight was necessitated by Da Silva (formerly Lipski) missing by a full six pounds.
In the opening minute, a bit of back-and-forth played out with Wang going after Da Silva with leg kicks. About a minute in, Ariane fired off a decent right hand; Wang would land a better one shortly after. Wang would continue with her kicks as well, though Da Silva nearly dumped her off one, and later fired a knee after forcing Wang to retreat.
The leg kicks from Wang began to pile up late in the round, with the Chinese flyweight landing a nasty one with about a minute to go. Da Silva was hurt and Wang went on the attack, through she couldn’t keep the pressure up. Still, Da Silva was switching stances to protect the leg, something to keep an eye on in the coming rounds.
Da Silva landed her right hand in the opening minute of round two, but Wang continued to chop at the legs, forcing the Brazilian back to the southpaw stance. The kicking attacks continued throughout the frame with Wang going inside and outside, just hounding the legs of Ariane Da Silva. For her part, Da Silva was being forced to worry about protecting herself more than finding openings for her own attacks, leading to a slower back half of the round for her. Another nasty leg kick crumpled Da Silva in the final minute, though she stayed in the fight and got back to her feet. Round three was not looking promising for Da Silva however.
It was a credit to Da Silva’s toughness that she lasted to the third, but that alone wasn’t about to win her the fight, and she was most certainly behind after two rounds. And with the threat of the low kick constant from Wang Cong, Da Silva struggled to get her offense going. Instead, Wang worked her jab, fired a high kick, kept up her low kicks, and mostly led the dance. Da Silva briefly got in the driver’s seat towards the end of the round, pushing forward and briefly returning to her more natural orthodox stance- but she could not stay there long. And once the final horn sounded, there was no doubt as to the winner.
That was Cong, who notched a big victory over a former KSW champ in Da Silva, then called out Jessica Andrade.
Official Result: Wang Cong def. Ariane Da Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
