“Julianna (Peña) will stay injured for the rest of her career. She doesn’t want to fight.” – Mayra Bueno Silva
Mayra Bueno Silva (10-2-1) will challenge for the vacant UFC women’s bantamweight title at UFC 297 on January 20, 2024.
The 32-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist meets Raquel Pennington in the co-main event on the UFC’s first pay-per-view of the new calendar year.
In speaking with MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast, Silva stated that she was expecting to face former champion Julianna Peña for the championship.
“At first I thought it was going to be Julianna, so we started watching all of Julianna’s fights after dinner,” Silva said. “A week later, I found out it was against Raquel. I didn’t even think about it, I thought it was Julianna because we were planning for that, right? I was super happy, already studying for Julianna, and then, ‘No, no, no, it’s Raquel.’ I was so excited [to fight for the UFC title], I didn’t even ask who the opponent was.”
“The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña, who was rehabbing an injury and did not compete in 2023. Her last fight was July 30, 2022, when she dropped a unanimous decision in a rematch to now retired former champion Amanda Nunes.
“Julianna will stay injured for the rest of her career,” Silva jokingly stated. “She doesn’t want to fight. She just wants to talk. All she does is noise. I have so much fun with her. Every time she posts something about me, it’s just funny to me. I hope this fight happens, because it will fans will have so much fun. I promise to beat the crap out of her and show who’s the boss.”
