Silva thanks Cyborg for showing her champion mentality after UFC Vegas 51 win
Bantamweight Mayra Bueno trained with former UFC champion Cris Cyborg for her fight against Yanan Wu
Women’s bantamweight Mayra Bueno Silva picked up an important victory at UFC Vegas 51. After going three rounds against Yanan Wu and scoring a unanimous decision win, the Brazilian could not exclude former champion Cris Cyborg when talking about her training camp for this fight.
In an interview with Combate, Silva once again mentioned how much help and insight Cyborg gave her when Mayra decided to move to the United States to train. Not only that, but ‘Sheetara’ says that even by observing the former champion’s work ethic, she was able to become a better fighter herself.
“I thought I had talent, and I know I do,” Silva said. “But when you train with a champion like Cris, you start to see that talent alone will not make you champion. We’d train hard for an hour and a half and when I left the cage, Cris would still be training. Then I promised myself I wouldn’t let that happen. As long as Cris was on the mat, that’s where I’d be, too. Whatever Cris did, I’d do it, too.
“I started to develop some mental toughness because of that. She demanded the most of herself, she would give her best. You start hanging out with a champion and then you start to see that champions do things differently. It’s not just talent, then have something else that only champions have and I was able to get that. Not really get, but I was able to see what she has in order to develop it myself.”
A newcomer in the UFC’s bantamweight division after fighting at flyweight for her first five outings, Silva could not be happier with her move. At first, the Brazilian thought she would be too small for the weight class, but was gladly surprised to see how her knockout power transferred to the heavier division.
“First fight at bantamweight, first win at bantamweight. This really is my division. I was able to show some of my knockout power and I’m really happy about that. Really happy. I’m so grateful that God gave me this opportunity and that the UFC let me show my work. I hadn’t been performing so well and they believed in me and gave me another chance. I’m so happy.”
Before the win over Wu, Silva (8-2-1) dropped a unanimous decision to Manon Fiorot, back in October 2021. The loss came after a majority draw against Montana De La Rosa, in February of the same year. The 30-year-old’s most recent win before UFC Vegas 51 was a submission victory over Mara Romero Borella, in September 2020.