Ariane da Silva faced a harsh reality check in her most recent UFC bout, where a revealing loss to Jasmine Jasudavicius highlighted a significant gap in her skills. This eye-opening defeat prompted her to drastically change her training approach in preparation for her upcoming fight against Wang Cong on the preliminary card of UFC 316 in Newark.
To address the identified weakness, Da Silva decided to leave Florida for three weeks and immerse herself completely in wrestling training in Arizona. She worked intensively with Angel Cejudo, brother of former UFC champion Henry Cejudo, focusing specifically on fixing the holes in her game. Her training schedule during this period was dedicated almost exclusively to no-gi wrestling, with occasional sessions alongside Henry Cejudo and Tracy Cortez.
Da Silva explained that consistent wrestling training had been challenging in the past year. Due to her coach opening a new gym and resulting scheduling conflicts since her fight with Casey O’Neill, she hadn`t been able to train with him regularly. Consequently, her wrestling practice was often limited to what could be incorporated into general MMA training sessions.
Initially, following her fight with Karine Silva, she felt her struggles might have been more mental than technical. However, the subsequent fight against Jasmine Jasudavicius made it clear: “No, those are not positions I don’t know. It’s not like I don’t know how to defend a single or double leg. My body didn’t react when it needed, it didn’t do the right technique. It didn’t do what was necessary to defend a takedown.”
The former KSW flyweight champion felt this significant training change was essential, especially after her three-fight winning streak was broken by consecutive losses to Karine Silva and Jasudavicius.
She stated, “We saw that I needed to train.” Da Silva understands that athletes learn in different ways, and for her, the key is repetition. “I have to train a lot, I have to repeat so many times so my body reacts the right way in the fight. And that’s what we did now. We did a wrestling crash course without knowing who we were going to fight.”
Da Silva had originally expected to face Miranda Maverick next. Instead, she is matched up with Wang Cong, a Chinese prospect who recently bounced back from an upset loss to Gabriella Fernandes with a decision victory over Bruna Brasil.
Da Silva anticipates that Cong might try to capitalize on her perceived grappling weakness. “I believe she might even try to go for a grappling gameplan against me because that’s a flaw I’ve showed in my last fights, so I have to be prepared for everything,” she said. She is confident in her preparation, having trained intensely in all areas to ensure her body responds correctly to any challenge the fight presents.
Despite coming off two losses in a row in the UFC, Da Silva remains confident and believes Cong will feel similarly. “I believe that every fighter is confident going into a fight regardless of their situation,” she commented, reflecting on her own mindset. She added that she focuses on technical analysis of her opponent rather than speculating about their confidence level. Da Silva believes the fight against Cong will be a good one because both fighters are primarily strikers.
Describing Cong as a very technical striker who doesn`t make reckless moves, Da Silva predicts the bout will mostly take place on the feet and be enjoyable for the fans. She sees it as an opportunity to showcase her overall development in MMA, but more importantly, to enjoy the process. Fighting a fellow striker allows her to go in, have fun, and display her refined technique and complete striking repertoire.
