Mayra Bueno Silva Hits the Reset Button

Mayra Bueno Silva went back to the drawing board and now gets to see of those efforts can bear some immediate fruit in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division.

The American Top Team standout will seek to bounce back from her first loss in more than two years when she takes on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 28 winner Macy Chiasson in a featured UFC 303 attraction this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Bueno Silva has not competed since she failed in her bid to capture the vacant women’s bantamweight crown in a five-round unanimous decision defeat—scores were 49-46, 49-46 and 49-45—to Raquel Pennington at UFC 297 in January.

“When I fought Raquel, she clearly won,” Bueno Silva told Sherdog.com. “I had a beautiful and dominant first round, but unfortunately, I had a problem in the second and I wasn’t able to perform well from that point. This sort of thing happens in a fight.”

Pennington nearly doubled the Brazilian in terms of significant strikes landed, 134 to 69, and piled up more than 11 minutes of control time despite being taken down three times. Bueno Silva claims to have suffered a ruptured eardrum in Round 2.

“The fight against Raquel is behind me,” Bueno Silva said. “I know my potential. I know what I showed in that first round. If not for what happened in the second, I would have won for sure. Unfortunately, some things are out of our control.”

Chiasson does not figure to be a soft landing. The Fortis MMA rep has alternated wins and losses in each of her past four assignments. Chiasson last suited up at UFC Fight Night 239, where she put away former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Pannie Kianzad with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their March 16 pairing.

“I actually don’t know much about her,” Bueno Silva said. “I saw a few things, but my coaches are the ones who do the analysis. I think she’s a ‘regular’ fighter. She does well in every area, but I don’t see her as being excellent. We have to watch out for her game against the cage, but I believe I’m superior to her everywhere.”

Bueno Silva thinks a victory, particularly a decisive one, has the potential to re-establish her as a viable title contender at 135 pounds.

“My plan is to be victorious, God willing,” she said. “Then I plan to fight for the belt again.”