Mayra Bueno Silva assessed the difference between her next and future opponents in the octagon. According to “Sheetara,” while Julianna Peña could help her promote a fight better, the true monster is hiding inside Raquel Pennington, whom she described as “a veteran that brings more danger.”
Silva will face Pennington in a co-main event bout at UFC 29, with the two will fight for the vacant UFC women’s bantamweight belt. However, the fight is not making much noise, with Silva acknowledging that the opponent is not much of a talker.
Thankfully for Silva, Peña is chipping in, calling the bout a “horrible interim title fight” that is being force-fed to the fans. The No. 1-ranked women’s bantamweight fighter also made sure to target Silva, who she knows will not back out from trash talk. Peña then expressed interest in Silva over Pennington, noting the former is a better opponent due to being verbal.
“Here’s the thing: At least Mayra is like a dance partner, you know what I mean?” Peña said in November. “And the point of the banter (and) back-and-forth is so that I can have a dance partner, so that I can make it more exciting so that people are going to want to watch. With Mayra, I have that in her because she’s got a mouth, I’ve got a mouth, and we can go back and forth. With Raquel, it’s kind of like crickets. For me, it’d be better if Mayra wins so that way we can make it more exciting for all of you guys.”
Silva affirmed it, saying that Peña is a better partner in terms of promoting a fight.
“Like it or not, Julianna would be more exciting as a fight,” Silva shared on the Trocação Franca podcast. “Not that Raquel is a bad athlete, but Julianna promotes fights better. Raquel is not that type of person. She doesn’t talk too much. She’s the type of athlete that likes to fight, and that’s it, so I was like, ‘Damn, I’ll have to try to promote this fight on my own.’ But my total focus is the best regardless.”
“It’s hard to promote this fight, because my opponent isn’t one that likes to talk too much. It didn’t disappoint me that there’s a fight after mine. This fight disappointed me because it’s a fight not many people want to see. To me, my fight is the main event.”
Despite this, Silva knows that the real challenge now is Pennington. Although the opponent is not a talker, Silva is certain that “Rocky” can be dangerous and a threat that she must first defeat before executing her plan to make Peña “injured for the rest of her career.”
“The fight just got a bit tougher, because Raquel is tougher than Julianna, but it doesn’t matter because the focus is the same,” Silva said. “Raquel is physically stronger. She’s been through ups and downs in the organization. She’s a veteran that brings more danger in the striking area than Julianna.”
