This has the potential to be an entertaining mess, which is true of
most Silva fights. Brazil’s “Sheetara” does have some legitimate
skill, particularly as a grappler, but getting her fights there is
typically an adventure if it happens. All else being equal, Silva
is content to keep marching forward and winging strikes hoping for
a knockout that rarely ever comes. Silva is dogged and powerful
enough that she is a tough force to meet head-on, but she is also
clearly beatable, whether it is an opponent who is able to
overpower her or someone smart enough to just outmaneuver her
rather one-dimensional pressure. After an October loss to Manon
Fiorot at flyweight, Silva moved up to 135 pounds for an April
win over Yanan Wu and
could make some headway in her new division, making this bout
against Egger a sneakily important fight. Coming into the UFC in
2020, Switzerland’s Egger looked like a fairly one-dimensional
threat, banking on her judo skill to see her through some clinch
and wrestling exchanges on her way to attempts at submissions. That
is still mostly true, but what turned into a showcase win over
Shanna
Young in late 2021 did raise some hope that Egger might be
rounding out her game and finding some comfort as a striker. Her
February win over Jessica-Rose
Clark was the biggest of Egger’s career, but it did not answer
many questions in terms of her well-roundedness. Clark just decided
to keep testing Egger’s wrestling and grappling skill until Egger
was able to find an armbar. This could go any manner of directions,
as Egger is likely to hunt for takedowns and some judo throws. It
is unclear where things go from there. Egger having the initiative
is a huge advantage, but that also plays into the best parts of
Silva’s game as a slick submission threat. There is also the off
chance that Egger, cognizant of the submission threat, looks to
bang this out in a fight that would then surely turn into an
absolute mess, with Silva being powerful but not particularly
technical and the Swiss export not having much comfort on the feet.
The bet is that this turns into a grappling match and a bit of a
stalemate with neither woman being able to put the other away.
Given that Egger looks to be the one hunting for advantageous
positions on the mat and the physically stronger force, she gets
the nod in what is essentially a coinflip. A submission on either
side would not be a surprise, but the pick is Egger via
decision.
UFC News & Features
