Outside Source
Mayra Bueno Silva’s native tongue is Portuguese, but there was no translation needed for her message to Julianna Pena following UFC Vegas 77.
Fresh off an upset submission win over ex-champ Holly Holm, Silva issued a response to Pena’s dismissal of her work on Saturday night at UFC APEX. Informed of a Pena tweet telling her to “get in line,” she made a sour face and then laughed loudly.
“Ah-hah!” Silva laughed. “She’s scared. She’s funny. OK, I love you Julianna, but I will smash you. I will smash you. … Look at my fight. Look at your fight. Who won? Ah, Julianna, shut up.”
Pena, whose trilogy hopes with Amanda Nunes were dashed by the former two-division champ’s retirement, wrote she’d take on Silva and Raquel Pennington in the same night. Pennington currently is the No. 2 fighter in the UFC’s rankings – she is tied for No. 10 with Alexis Davis in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings – and is widely considered a frontrunner for the next shot at the title.
Silva scoffed at a title fight between Pena and Pennington for the vacant strap.
“Nobody watches this fight,” she deadpanned to laughs from reporters in attendance at the post-fight press conference.
With her submission finish of Holm, Silva again proved one to watch in the bantamweight division. She’s won four straight fights, falling short only against Manon Fiorot and Maryna Moroz in flyweight contests. Along the way, she’s captured four performance bonuses.
“I’m very happy,” Silva said. “I don’t know what’s happening today. It’s Holly Holm. I’m very emotional. I’m grateful for my live, for my team.
“God told me, ‘Hey, you win this fight.’ I believe too much in god. This week, I’m afraid of Holly, every f****** day. I cry too much. I don’t believe me in this fight. When I win…what? I win! This was in my mind.”
When it comes to a matchup with Pena, who returns from a rib injury that slotted Irene Aldana in for what turned out to be Nunes’ retirement fight at UFC 289, Silva is far more confident in her chances.
“Julianna, I respect you,” Silva said. “But I will smash you.”
This article first appeared at MMA Fighting – All Posts
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