Natalia Silva is styled with former champion Alexa Grasso, and her own title may be just around the corner.
On the main card of UFC 315 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Silva (19-5-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) played a major showdown between the top 5 female fly competitors. 15 minutes later, Silva raised her hand after the judge won her support with a consistent score of 30-27.
Silva exposed lights on her feet and hit them early. Quick punching and kicking found that their goal in Grasso seemed to have studied Silva's movements. Grasso was unable to drive Silva to the ground and was kicked in the face later in the opening round. The first five minutes belonged to Silva because she got better almost every time she communicated.
In round 2, Silva's footwork and fast traffic moves remain issues for the former champions. Grasso chased Silva across the entire octagonal mat while providing a double poke, but was unable to cause significant damage around the opponent. Apart from the late heating exchange in round 2, Silva largely sticks to her rocker and movement method.
With only five minutes left, Grasso needs some big things to win the battle. The former champion raised the pressure on the striker, but Silva was still too smooth when bounced in the octagon, shooting Grasso quickly. From beginning to end, it's Silva.
With the victory, Brazil's Silva rose to 7-0 in the UFC and is now on the verge of a title, which will be in game form in the joint home game. Since entering the promotion in 2022, Silva's competition level has steadily improved and Silva continues to shine.
Grasso lost for the second straight time as she entered the fight after losing to Valentina Shevchenko in the trilogy round of UFC 306 in September. Before three battles with Shevchenko, Mexico's Grasso fought four straight to win the championship, winning the championship at UFC 285 and retaining a split draw in the first NOCHE UFC in 2023.