Former teammates Mayra Bueno Silva and Michelle Montague faced off in bantamweight action at UFC Vegas 116.
Silva, who once challenged for the UFC’s vacant women’s 135lb title after Amanda Nunes had retired, had not won since 2023. She’d gone through what seemed like an excruciating weight cut ahead of Saturday’s card at the Meta Apex, which had left her in tears.
Montague immediately landed a takedown inside of 20 seconds into the fight, landing a couple of punches on the way inside. Montague, on top, was then all over “Sheetara” with ground n’ pound while staying heavy and preventing any hope of escape. Montague escaped half guard, floated on top and spun around, nearly taking hold of a choke. Instead, she wound up back in half guard, but given she was having ample success there, the position wasn’t helping Bueno Silva any.
Montague would briefly take mount with just over two minutes on the clock. Bueno Silva nearly gave up her back escaping that position, but at least avoided a finish then and there. Still, it was all Montague, all the time, more ground n’ pound landing for the American.
The opening seconds of round two saw Mayra Bueno Silva take advantage of an opening, acting as matador as Montague charged in on her. Montague ate a couple of punches up against the cage, but Bueno Silva used that momentum to finally earn some offense. Under fire for the first time in the fight, Montague went after a takedown, sloppy, and rather than retreat she engaged in the grappling, to her own peril. Montague wound up in control, buying herself some time to recover.
The fight was later halted by an illegal upkick from Bueno Silva, though Montague was able to recover. The earned a warning from ref Herb Dean, who recognized that Bueno Silva had been trying to time the kick to land when Montague was legal.
With Montague good to go, the bout was restarted on the feet, with Montague clinching up. Not much time before the horn arrived, and they headed to the third.
Montague landed a solid takedown in round three. Bueno Silva was firmly on her back, Montague in side control. In a scramble, Bueno Silva would take the back, hunting for a rear-naked choke with Michelle Montague sitting on her knees. Montague escaped, reversed, and was back on top with just over 90 seconds remaining in the round.
That opened the door for some more ground n’ pound. The decision was as clear-cut as they come. Undefeated in the PFL, undefeated as a pro, Michelle Montague improved to 8-0 at UFC Vegas 116, beating a former title challenger to do so.
Official Result: Michelle Montague def. Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
