Preview: UFC 309 ‘Jones vs. Miocic’

Women’s Flyweights

#11 WFLW | Karine Silva (18-4, 4-0 UFC) vs. #9 WFLW | Viviane Araujo (12-6, 6-5 UFC)

ODDS: Silva (-258), Araujo (+210)

UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!
Some new blood is making its way up the UFC’s flyweight ranks, and Silva is one of the more interesting talents among the bunch. Silva’s 2021 win on Dana White’s Contender Series didn’t inspire much confidence, even if it did jibe with her resume up to that point. An opportunistic submission artist, “Killer” accomplished little against Chinese wrestler Qihui Yan until the point that she suddenly clamped on a fight-ending guillotine choke in the second round. Silva’s next three fights all followed that same recipe, with the Brazilian eventually tearing through her opponent’s grappling defenses, though she did show enough ancillary skills that it wasn’t necessarily a shock when she scored the first decision win of her career in April against countrywoman Ariane Lipski. It’s a feat she will look to repeat against another fellow Brazilian in Araujo, who has settled in as one of the clear gatekeepers to the 125-pound elite.

Araujo had a memorable UFC debut back in 2019. A career strawweight to that point, “Vivi” stepped in during fight week up two divisions at 135 pounds to score a knockout of Talita Bernardo. Araujo then dropped down to flyweight and has since chugged along on the fringes of the Top 10, showing herself to be a strong athlete with a game that’s wide if not particularly deep. Araujo can take apart worse athletes, but if opponents can either prove themselves as faster strikers or stronger wrestlers, Araujo usually doesn’t have a path back into the fight for as long as they lean on those skills. That could make for an interesting matchup against Silva, who can be fast if inaccurate on the feet and is more proven as a grappler than a wrestler. With Silva coming off a clear win against another opponent reliant on athleticism, she gets the benefit of the doubt here. The pick is Silva via decision.

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Jones vs. Miocic
Oliveira vs. Chandler
Nickal vs. Craig
Silva vs. Araujo
Ruffy vs. Llontop
Prelims: McGhee vs. Martinez