Preview: UFC Fight Night 186 Main Card

Women’s Flyweights

NR | Mayra Bueno Silva (7-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. NR | Montana De La Rosa (11-6, 4-2 UFC)

ODDS: Silva (-145), De La Rosa (+125)

Silva’s signing was a bit of a flier given her lack of experience and record of quick finishes, but it has mostly paid off thus far. “Sheetara” had an impressive UFC debut, scoring an armbar submission of Gillian Robertson in September 2018, but Silva was not able to capitalize on that momentum. She tore up her knee in the last grappling exchange of the fight and wound up missing all of 2019 as a result, and 2020 provided a solid demonstration of her strengths and weaknesses. While she is always aggressive and dangerous—she scored another quick armbar on Mara Romero Borella in her most recent appearance—those tendencies come without much of a regard for defense or control of the fight. That should provide an interesting dynamic against De La Rosa, who has carved out a solid niche in the middle of the women’s flyweight division. De La Rosa came up through the ranks as a grappler and had the poor fortune of getting matched with Mackenzie Dern and Cynthia Calvillo prior to joining the UFC. While that is still the best part of her game, she has obviously put some work in to be a better striker. However, there are still a lot of kinks to be worked out. While De La Rosa seems to have the right idea, she is still a bit mechanical and unnatural as a combination puncher. In general, there is the worry that De La Rosa is not enough of an athlete to have a particularly high ceiling. Still, while Silva’s pressure stylings should allow her to do some damage on the feet, it also gives De La Rosa the opportunity to take this to the mat, where she should be able to control the action. Silva is dangerous, but De La Rosa has shown enough to suggest she is not easy to tap out. The pick is De La Rosa via decision.

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