If Natalia Silva wasn’t a contender prior to Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 242, she is now.
In what was her most high-profile test to date, Silva (17-5-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) defeated Jessica Andrade (26-12 MMA, 17-10 UFC) by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). The flyweight bout was the co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
For the majority of the 15-minute duration, the bout between Silva and Andrade was action-packed. Andrade was predominantly the one moving forward, but Silva found success on the backpedal. Her counters and spinning kicks were effective. In Round 2, she stunned Andrade with a big punch to the left side of her head. Andrade also had her moments, but they were fewer and farther between.
When the dust settled, Silva emerged the victor, as she swept all three rounds from all three judges on the scorecards.
“Dana, I came here to be a champion,” Silva said in the cage after her win. “I want that shot.”
The flyweight division has a new contender 👀@NataliaSilvaUFC with a HUGE victory at #UFCVegas97! pic.twitter.com/nUWe7IWHur
— UFC (@ufc) September 8, 2024
With the win, Silva extends her winning streak to 12 and maintains a perfect UFC record. Her other UFC victories are against Viviane Araujo, Andrea Lee, Victoria Leonardo, Tereza Bleda, and Jasmine Jasudavicius.
In defeat, Andrade has a two-fight winning streak snapped. A former UFC strawweight champion, Andrade has lost five of her most recent seven bouts.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 242 results include:
- Natalia Silva def. Jessica Andrade via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Steve Garcia def. Kyle Nelson via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:59
- Cody Durden def. Matt Schnell via submission (anaconda choke) – Round 2, 0:29
- Yanal Ashmouz def. Trevor Peek via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Chris Padilla def. Rong Zhu via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 4:14
- Isaac Dulgarian def. Brendon Marotte via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:19
- Andre Lima def. Felipe dos Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Gabriel Santos def. Yi Zha via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
- Jaqueline Amorim def. Vanessa Demopoulos via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:28
- Andre Petroski def. Dylan Budka via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Nathan Fletcher def. Zygimantas Ramaska via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:14
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 242.
