UFC flyweight Karine Silva was a bit surprised by the fan reaction to her win over Dione Barbosa at UFC 319 on Saturday night.
Silva (19-5) won a decision over Barbosa that night. The fans booed the decision as many felt Barbosa had done enough to win the bout.
“I was a little bit surprised with the reaction of the fans. I thought I was closer to submitting her for two of the rounds. Nowadays it’s damage over control,” Silva told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator at her post-fight scrum.
“I thought I had it in the bag. I knew it was close, but I knew I had won it. I think the fans came to expect me to always finish my fights because that’s who I am. Unfortunately that’s not what always happens.”
The fight was a rematch from 2019 which Barbosa won. That didn’t make the rematch personal for Silva even if she’s happy to get that win back.
“In my head it wasn’t really revenge for me because I felt I won the first fight. I didn’t come here with the vengeance mindset. I came here with the mindset of doing my job, making my team proud of me, and putting the work that we worked on during all these months together,” Silva told Cageside Press.
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Karine Silva above.
