Mayra
Bueno Silva believes an injury suffered during her championship
clash against Raquel
Pennington led to her defeat.
Silva (10-3) took on Pennington (16-8) in the co-main event at
UFC 297 with the vacant
Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight title on
the line. While “Sheetara” won the first round on all three
official scorecards, attempting a submission along the way, she
never won another round. Pennington went on to earn a unanimous
decision victory in a lackluster affair.
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Silva has revealed that a strike from Pennington partially ruptured
her eardrum early in Round 2, impairing her ability to make reads.
The Brazilian told
MMA Fighting on Wednesday:
“I had a minor ear injury, but aside from that, I feel great and
ready to come back. Raquel hit me hard in the ear and partially
tore my eardrum and I kind of lost balance. But it’s part of the
game.”
Silva continued, “I couldn’t read the fight and know what was
happening after the strike [that caused the injury]. Kudos to her
for landing a good strike that took me out of the fight. I’m still
licking my wounds and had no time to analyze the fight and know
what went wrong yet. We’re still kind of on a hangover.”
Silva will be visiting a specialist to evaluate the extent of her
injury, but when she comes back, she already has two potential
opponents in mind.
“There are two athletes that don’t have a fight booked, and I think
would make sense for me,” the former title challenger remarked.
“First, Irene
Aldana. I think that’s a fight we could do, but first I need to
wait and see what the doctor sees. I don’t want to stay out too
long, I want to come back soon…I also thought about Miesha
[Tate], but let’s see what the UFC has to offer. Maybe Miesha
would be a good name.”