"I don't have any knockouts in UFC" - Mayra Bueno Silva predicts dire outcome for Raquel Pennington in upcoming title fight (Exclusive)

Mayra Bueno Silva has recently issued an ominous prediction about her upcoming title fight against Raquel Pennington.

Bueno Silva is gearing up to take on Pennington for the vacant UFC women's bantamweight title in the co-main event of UFC 297. The first pay-per-view event of 2024 is slated to take place at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, on Jan. 20.

'Sheetara' secured an opportunity to compete for the vacant title by triumphing over Wu Yanan, Stephanie Egger, Lina Lansberg, and Holly Holm in four bantamweight bouts. Even though Silva's latest win—a second-round ninja choke submission against Holm in July 2023—was later nullified due to a positive drug test, the UFC still granted her the chance to vie for the championship.

During an exclusive interview with James Lynch for Sportskeeda MMA, Bueno Silva predicted the outcome of her upcoming fight:

"I will knock her out. I have trained hard and I don't have any knockout wins in the UFC only submissions. But I believe now is my time, I'm ready to knock her out."

She added:

"She is very tough, I respect everything she did but now it's my moment."

Check out Mayra Bueno Silva's comments below (4:12):

'Sheetara' holds a professional record of 10-2-1, including a UFC record of 5-2-1. Notably, out of her 10 victories, the Brazilian has secured seven wins through submission.

Meanwhile, Pennington enters her second UFC title fight on the back of a five-fight win streak. The seasoned American's notable victories during this run include triumphs over ranked opponents Ketlen Vieira, Macy Chiasson, and Pannie Kianzad. 'Rocky' boasts a professional record of 15-8, with an octagon record of 12-5.

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Mayra Bueno Silva fires back at Sean Strickland's social media taunt

Mayra Bueno Silva has recently responded to Sean Strickland's derogatory comments.

The headline bout of UFC 297 will feature Strickland putting his UFC middleweight title on the line against Dricus Du Plessis. When the matchup was revealed in November, 'Tarzan' sarcastically remarked in an Instagram post that he would be assisting Bueno Silva and Raquel Pennington in boosting pay-per-view sales. He posted:

"Well, Canada time to bring you all some freedom. Didn't want to fight in Jan or in Canada but was asked to help a couple of ladies do their job.. and they call me s*xist.."

Check out Sean Strickland's post below:

During a recent interview with ESPN, Bueno Silva lashed out at Strickland for his remarks:

"Look, on paper, my fight with Raquel is not a good fight. But on paper, Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis is a good fight? No. Sean talks too much. He thinks he is a big star, but he is not a big star. I believe my fight and Sean’s fight, one helps the other."

She added:

"On paper, two bad fights for fans. But when we enter the octagon, I do a good fight and Du Plessis does good fights, too. I don’t watch good fights from Sean Strickland. I don’t remember a good fight."

Check out Mayra Bueno Silva's comments below (10:45):