Karine Silva faced Dione Barbosa in an all-Brazil women’s flyweight match-up as part of the UFC 319 preliminary card on Saturday.
The fight was a rematch of a 2019 encounter on the Brazilian regional circuit, which Barbosa had won.
Silva, who had moved to Sao Paulo to join the red-hot Fighting Nerds camp, was on the outside early, with Barbosa holding center. Silva eventually got her back off the fence, walking Barbosa down; Barbosa fired kicks and targeted the body. Dione, coming off a win over Romanian Diana Belbita, looked confident, but Silva got her hands going in the back half of a competitive first round.
In the final minute, the pair would go to the ground, and Dione Barbosa was lightning quick in taking the back. Both hooks in, she hunted for a rear-naked choke, but Silva defended that. Barbosa switched to an arm-bar, but ran out of time.
They would go to the ground much sooner in round two, and this time, Silva managed to get in control. Barbosa scrambled to the fence, but Silva was still controlling her back. Not for long, as Dione powered up and reversed, firing a knee in the clinch. Later in the round, it was Barbosa getting Silva down, landing ground n’ pound and finishing the frame strong.
The grappling exchanges continued in the third, leading to a guillotine attempt by Silva near the midway mark and wild scramble. Barbosa appeared to have tired a little, and Silva was able to control her more than she had in either previous round. Silva, however, found herself on her back after Barbosa reversed with about 90 seconds to go. Barbosa dropped ground n’ pound, Silva punched off her back, and they went to the final horn that way.
After three rounds, all three judges awarded the fight to Karine Silva, giving her a bit of revenge following that 2019 loss. The crowd at the United Center, however, did not agree.
Official Result: Karine Silva def. Dione Barbosa by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
