Mayra Bueno Silva is set to compete in front of a crowd for the first time since 2018, as she prepares to face Raquel Pennington for the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto.
Mayra Bueno Silva is about to experience something she hasn’t since 2018. She’s gonna hear a crowd again. It might be cheers, or it might be boos, but it’s gonna be something.
“Sheetara”, as she’s known, first stepped into the octagon in Sao Paulo, Brazil. That was back in November 2018. She won her debut with a first-round armbar victory over Gillian Robertson. But, she also suffered a bad knee injury that night.
It took her some time to recover. And when she did, the world was in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her comeback fight was part of the UFC Brasilia card in March 2020. The event was almost canceled because of the pandemic. The arena was empty for the first time due to the health crisis.
Since then, Silva has fought seven times. All of her fights took place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. It’s a place that was built to host events during the pandemic, with only a few people in attendance.
But now, Silva is preparing for a big fight. She’s set to face Raquel Pennington for the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 297. The fight is scheduled for Jan. 20 in Toronto. And Silva is excited about competing in front of a larger crowd.
“To get fans on their feet with every punch, every move, every takedown, that’s priceless,” Silva said on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. “That’s incredible. I’m way more anxious to experience that again, to see the crowd again, than about the actual fight. I’m very happy for that.”
“When I found out I was going to fight Raquel I thought it was going to be in Vegas,” she continued. “I was happy too because Vegas is where I did my whole UFC career, but when I found out it was going to be in Toronto I realized, damn, we’ll have a crowd again, I’ll meet fans again. I wake up every day thanking God for my life and for the opportunity He’s giving me.”
Silva earned her shot at the vacant belt after defeating Wu Yanan, Stephanie Egger, Lina Lansberg, and Holly Holm in four bantamweight appearances. Her most recent victory, a ninja choke submission of Holm, was overturned afterward due to a positive drug test. But the UFC still awarded Silva with a chance for gold.
The American Top Team fighter has vowed to “give fans a great show and bring the belt back [to Brazil]”. She believes Brazilian fans “deserve this joy” after double champion Amanda Nunes retired from the sport. After years away from real arenas, “Sheetara” looks back at her UFC Sao Paulo debut as proof that fans in attendance can help you win fights.
“I felt my knee wasn’t OK [against Robertson] but still kept fighting because I was at home, I was with my people, and they were screaming,” Silva said. “I would never give up. I probably wouldn’t be able to come back for the second round because I couldn’t even stand still, but as I was there, in that first round, I gave my all because fans were happy. It was a party in my backyard, and there’s no way I would let them down.”