Preview: UFC on ESPN 49 ‘Holm vs. Bueno Silva’

With UFC 290 and its “Event of the Year”-worthy magnificence now in the rearview mirror, the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday shifts back to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas for a show that certainly feels like a bit of a hangover. If nothing else, there are some stakes in the main event, where Holly Holm and Mayra Bueno Silva jockey for position in a bantamweight title picture that is completely wide open following the retirement of Amanda Nunes. Meanwhile, the women’s featherweight division features a showdown between Norma Dumont and Chelsea Chandler that could wind up becoming important, provided that weight class has a future without Nunes. Beyond that, a solid middleweight affair between Albert Duraev and Jun Yong Park serves as the co-headliner, while some entertaining fights between fighters looking to get back in the win column fill out the UFC on ESPN 49 lineup.

Now to the UFC on ESPN 49 “Holm vs. Silva” preview:

Women’s Bantamweights

#3 WBW | Holly Holm (15-6, 8-6 UFC) vs. #10 WBW | Mayra Bueno Silva (10-2-1, 5-2-1 UFC)

ODDS: Holm (-170), Bueno Silva (+145)

The title picture at women’s bantamweight is wide open once again, and Holm is still firmly in the mix, even as she closes in on 42 years of age. Holm is still one of the highest-profile fighters in the sport in a way that gives her the clear promotional benefit of the doubt, mostly thanks to her electric upset of Ronda Rousey in 2015. Less talked about is the aftermath, where Holm did not have much in the way of consistent success or provide much in the way of excitement. She dropped five of her next seven bouts, with the clear highlight being a brutal knockout of the clearly overmatched Bethe Correia. Holm still found her way into a title fight against Nunes by 2019, when she was summarily dispatched, but from there, she has chugged along on the fringes of the title picture even as a rematch seemed unlikely. Holm’s striking output was never high even at her peak, but she has settled in as even more of a low-volume neutralizer in recent years thanks to her athleticism. She is able to outquick her typically more plodding peers on the feet, and when all else fails, she still has the physical strength to lean on a grinding clinch game. Holm did suffer a recent setback, however, losing a surprising split decision to Ketlen Vieira in May 2022, but that seems to have forced the former champion to pick the pace back up a bit. Her March win over Yana Santos still was not a scintillating affair, but it saw Holm break out a much more aggressive wrestling game than she had displayed in the past. Either way, this still looks like her fight to lose against Silva, who has had a successful move up to bantamweight thus far. A plodding slugger with a vicious and effective grappling game, “Sheetara” hit a ceiling against quicker opponents at flyweight but has done well up at 135 pounds, stringing together some dynamic submission wins over Stephanie Egger and Lina Lansberg. That at least gives the Brazilian some hope that she can pull something out of thin air whenever this fight is on the mat or in close quarters—as does the idea that Holm has to age out of effectiveness at some point—but this looks like yet another fight where “The Preacher’s Daughter” can lean on her athletic advantages and coast out a win. The pick is Holm via decision.

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Holm vs. Bueno Silva
Park vs. Duraev
Dumont vs. Chandler
Prado vs. Azaitar
Sadykhov vs. McKinney
The Prelims