Press Conference
Summer is here and business is about to start really picking up inside the Octagon, as this weekend kicks off what will be a 12-week run with events every Saturday, which includes four pay-per-views, three events on ESPN, another on ABC and so many entertaining matchups that your head will spin.
As we return from taking the final weekend in May off to regroup and ready for what’s ahead, the summer slate kicks off at the UFC APEX with a card headlined by flyweight contenders Kai Kara-France and Amir Albazi.
While the 125-pound standouts rightfully command the lion’s share of the attention heading into Saturday’s card, there is a trio of Brazilians slated to make the walk this weekend that you should be paying close attention to, as well.
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Here’s a closer look at those athletes in the latest edition of Fighters on the Rise.
Karina Silva
The 29-year-old Silva earned her place on the UFC roster with a second-round submission win over Yan Qihui late in Season 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series, extending her record to 14-4 in the process. She made her promotional debut seven months later, landing on the main card of a Fight Night card opposite Poliana Botelho, where she maintained her winning ways by registering a submission win via D’Arce choke in the waning seconds of the opening stanza.
Now, 364 days later, Silva will finally step into the Octagon for her sophomore appearance, squaring off with fellow Brazilian and promotional newcomer Ketlen Souza in what should be a competitive and compelling bout.
Silva was initially scheduled to return earlier this year in a matchup against Priscila Cachoeira, but “Zombie Girl” was four pounds over the non-title limit, resulting in the fight being cancelled and Silva’s return being delayed.
While she’s made just a single appearance inside the UFC cage, there are obvious reasons to be excited about Silva heading into this one, and going forward, as well: she’s on a six-fight winning streak, earning finishes in each of those contests, her four career losses all came against fighters with more experience, including UFC staple Maryna Moroz, and her size and physicality sets her apart from many of her contemporaries in the 125-pound weight class.
Souza is an interesting test on Saturday — a debuting veteran on a five-fight winning streak, who claimed the vacant Invicta FC flyweight title last time out, and has similarly shared the cage with quality competition for much of her career.
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If Silva can impose her will on Souza and force her into bad spots and questionable decisions as she did with Botelho, then “Killer” could very well collect a second straight UFC victory, a seventh consecutive win overall, and take another step towards establishing herself as a real person of interest in the flyweight division as we head towards the back half of the year.
Daniel Santos
Santos was handed a pretty difficult assignment for his UFC debut when he was paired off with Julio Arce in the UFC 273 opener 13 months ago. Fighting for the first time in 28 months, the young Brazilian couldn’t match the output and technical acumen of the East Coast veteran, but hung tough in going the distance and dropping a decision.
Santos returned six months later and gave a much better accounting of himself, rallying after dropping the opening round to John Castaneda to take the fight to the 31-year-old Contender Series alum. Backing him against the fence, Santos ripped home shots to the body and sealed the deal with a heavy knee that sent Castaneda tumbling to the canvas.
This weekend, the Chute Boxe Diego Lima representative returns to face off with Johnny Munoz Jr. in what should be another entertaining offering in the bantamweight division.
What really stood out about Santos in each of his first two appearances is his resolve. Against Arce, he stood in there, got touched up a little, but never looked for a way out or stopped trying to find opportunities to land something of his own. Against Castaneda, he stayed on plan, dealt with the offense coming his way in the opening frame, and then ramped up the pressure in the second to secure the stoppage.
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Saturday’s pairing with Munoz is another quality test in middle of the talent-rich division, as the 30-year-old is sound everywhere and coming off a good effort in a victory over Liudvik Sholinian back in November.
With team leader Charles Oliveira ticketed to make his return next weekend in Vancouver, you can be sure things have been humming inside the gym and Santos will be locked in and firing on all cylinders when he hits the Octagon on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Philipe Lins
When Lins first touched down in the UFC, he did so as a member of the heavyweight division, logging back-to-back losses to Andrei Arlovski and Tanner Boser in a six-week stretch during the early months of the pandemic.
He then had several fights cancelled for different reasons while making the transition back to the light heavyweight ranks, where he had spent the majority of his career. After nearly two years on the sidelines, Lins finally returned to action last April, registering a unanimous decision win over Marcin Prachnio to get things moving in the right direction. He promised a better performance in his next appearance and made good on that promise in February.
Philipe Lins Knocks Out Ovince Saint Preux In RD 1 | UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs Blanchfield
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Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
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Philipe Lins Knocks Out Ovince Saint Preux In RD 1 | UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs Blanchfield
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Lins needed just 49 seconds to dispatch divisional mainstay Ovince Saint Preux, stunning the former interim title challenger with the first right hand he threw and never allowing him off the ropes from there. He kept Saint Preux pressed against the fence and covering up, hammering home heavy hooks and mixing in thudding blows to the body before a reaching left connected as Saint Preux looked to scurry to open space, ending the fight.
While you never want to put too much stock into a quick victory, especially one that comes against an aging veteran who has struggled to find positive results of late, Lins unquestionably looked good in there with Saint Preux in February. Physically, he appeared to be in great shape, and his power clearly translated much better at 205 pounds than it did in there with the big boys.
Saturday is another opportunity for Lins to show this resurgence is real as he squares off with another veteran, Maxim Grishin, in a bout that was previously booked for last October. The Russian has split four trips into the Octagon, though it’d be understandable to give him a pass for his debut loss at heavyweight against Marcin Tybura, and he brings an abundance of experience into this pairing.
At light heavyweight, all it takes is a couple wins to start to get noticed, and putting away Saint Preux in a hurry certainly accomplished that feat for Lins. Should he push his run of success to three with a victory over Grishin on Saturday, the 37-year-old Brazilian could find himself sharing the Octagon with a ranked opponent next time out.
UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs Albazi took place live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 3, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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