Mayra Bueno Silva: UFC 297 Foe Raquel Pennington ‘Doesn’t Like to Fight’

Mayra Bueno Silva believes upcoming opponent Raquel Pennington will quit in their upcoming title fight.

Bueno Silva will face Pennington in the co-main event at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto with the vacant women’s bantamweight strap on the line. Silva believes the fight will go out of Pennington in their upcoming clash like it did when “Rocky” faced Amanda Nunes at UFC 224 back in 2018.

En route to a lopsided fifth-round stoppage loss, Pennington was heard telling her corner that she was “done” after the fourth round.

“Do you remember Raquel fought with Amanda, Raquel said, ‘Alright, I’m done. I don’t want to fight anymore.’ Do you remember? For this reason, she doesn’t want to fight,” Bueno Silva said during an appearance on "The MMA Hour.”

“She doesn’t like to fight. She wants to hold [during] the fight because she doesn’t like fighting. Remember, when she was done, ‘I don’t want no more.’ In the first round, when I punch her hard, she’ll talk again: ‘I don’t want to fight anymore.’”

While 10 of Pennington’s career wins have come via decision, Bueno Silva has finished eight of her 10 wins. That doesn’t include a submission win over Holly Holm in her last outing, which was later overturned to a no contest after “Sheetara” tested positive for a banned substance which she blamed on ADHD medication. The Brazilian believes Pennington doesn’t have the “courage” for a real fight.

“I think she doesn’t want to fight,” said Bueno Silva, who also predicted that she will stop Pennington in the second round. “She doesn’t have courage. She doesn’t like to fight. I like fighting, punching and takedowns. She likes to fight, but she likes to hold [in] fights. She doesn’t like to fight a clean fight. She likes more clinching and this thing, you know?”

Bueno Silva is unbeaten in her last four outings, while Pennington is in the midst of a five-fight winning streak that dates back to 2021.