Natalia Silva looks to build on her impressive promotional debut when she welcomes unbeaten Czech prospect Tereza Bleda to the UFC cage for the first time in this weekend’s opener.
Fighting for the first time in 18 months, Silva rolled into the Octagon and ran through Jasmine Jasudavicius in June, battering the recent DWCS grad en route to a unanimous decision win. The 25-year-old Brazilian is now 13-5-1 overall, but is riding a seven-fight winning streak since losing to current strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez, and looks like someone to keep close tabs on going forward, regardless of how this one plays out.
Just 20 years old, but already 6-0 as a pro, Bleda dominated Nayara Maia inside the UFC APEX in early September on Dana White’s Contender Series, and makes her debut here despite not earning a contract that night. The former Oktagon MMA flyweight champ went 9-0 as an amateur, including a win over current UFC competitor Lucie Pudilova, before turning pro, and hasn’t missed a beat since making the switch.
This is an outstanding clash to open the show, as both Silva and Bleda have impressed thus far, while still having plenty of room to grow and develop. No one should be surprised if these two cross paths for a second time as ranked competitors a few years from now.