Written by Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Natalia Silva has gold on her mind after shutting out former champion Alexa Grasso in dominant fashion at UFC 315.
The Brazilian displayed incredible striking and movement that frustrated Grasso at every turn and she just couldn’t get any real offense going. In return, Silva was beating her up with a variety of strikes to secure the biggest win of her career.
The judges all scored the fight 30-27 with Silva getting the nod by unanimous decision.
“We knew there was a path [to victory],” Silva said. “My fighting style is different and it’s by Natalia Silva. Dana [White], that belt’s going to look beautiful on me!”
Fast feet and movement put Silva ahead early as she established her striking range with a variety of kicks and then mixing in some quick punches. Grasso was struggling to keep up but she did connect with a slick jab before looking for a takedown but Silva was able to counter before resetting in the center of the cage.
Silva then uncorked a nasty side kick that popped Grasso directly in the face, which earned more than a few shocked reactions from the Canadian crowd.
As time passed, Silva was just picking and choosing her shots as she cracked Grasso with blistering combinations from her hands and then snapping off her kicks in succession. Silva’s movement was obviously difficult to deal with because Grasso was stuck chasing her and reacting to the offense coming from the Brazilian.
Just before the second round ended, Grasso finally managed to press Silva against the cage where she began unloading punches. Unfortunately, Grasso took just as many shots as she landed and Silva largely walked away from the exchange unscathed.
The struggles for Grasso continued into the final frame with Silva sticking, moving and the popping the former champion with her counters. Silva also connected with very stiff combinations that snapped Grasso’s head back as her frustration continued growing.
Silva also connected with a lightning quick head kick that opened a cut and caused bleeding to start pouring down the side of Grasso’s face. That was the final nail in the coffin as Silva began her celebration and a dejected Grasso realized she just lost her second fight in a row.
It was an ultra-impressive performance as Silva takes out a former champion and potentially cemented herself as the No. 1 contender in the division with the championship about to be decided at UFC 315 when Valentina Shevchenko takes on Manon Fiorot in the co-main event.