Natalia Silva got the better of Viviane Araujo on the scorecards tonight at UFC Fight Night 235 in Las Vegas.
Round One:
Inside low kick and a jab for Silva. A combo from Silva comes up short. Body kick for her after a few more punches miss.
Araujo looking to close the distance and lands a leg kick. Now Araujo gets into the clinch and works for a takedown against the cage. She partially drags Silva down, but she gets right back up. Araujo remaining clinched up though as she seeks to bring her down again.
Araujo moves around to the back and lands a few knees to the back of the leg of Silva. The action is stalling here tough. More knees from Araujo. Now Silva turns into her and tries for a throw that doesn’t work out, so Araujo presses her into the cage.
There’s a little space and suddenly Silva is unloading, throwing a series of punches and attempting a spinning back kick too. Back to punches and Araujo lands too as the round comes to a close.
Round Two:
Silva threatening with lead leg kicks to start the 2nd round. A strike from Silva rocks Araujo for a moment. She manages to regroup and goes back to pressuring.
Quick jab from Silva. Solid body kick for Araujo. High kick attempt from Silva. Leg kick for her. She lands another and continues to utilize good movement too.
Good jab from Silva snaps Araujo’s head back. Another quick jab lands. calf kick for Araujo. Silva misses on a head kick attempt.
Araujo clinches up against the cage. The action stalls from here again. into the final minutes of the round. In the end the ref opts to separate them.
Jumping switch kick attempt from Silva. She misses on another kick that whistles over Araujo’s head. Overhand from Araujo just before the round ends.
Round Three:
Silva misses a head kick but lands one to the leg. Another head kick attempt comes off the guard. One-two lands for Silva. Araujo throws out a flurry of punches but most not finding the mark.
Silva back to utilizing side to side movement while landing the occasional quick punch. One-two lands for her. Right hand gets through for Araujo too.
Araujo goes back to the clinch against the cage. It looks like we could be in for more stalling here and the ref is quickly urging for more action.
Silva manages to break free though and get back to striking range with two minutes to go. She lands a leg kick and one to the body. Now punches to the body.
Leg kick for Silva. Now a jab. Araujo trying to close the distance, but can’t get anything going. Right hand for Silva.
Silva leans back to avoid a couple of punches and then lands a flurry of her own. Now a grazing head kick. A spinning head kick only just narrowly misses a clean connection. Araujo into the clinch again late in the round but the horn sounds before she can complete the takedown.
Decision:
No real doubt about the winner here, with Silva’s fast attacks and constant movement paying off, while Araujo’s attempts to go for takedowns didn’t. Silva wins via unanimous decision (29-28 x3).
