Mayra Bueno Silva declares herself best bantamweight ahead of UFC 303: 'Nobody like me'

LAS VEGAS – Failing to capture the UFC women’s bantamweight title did not shake Mayra Bueno Silva’s confidence.

Silva (10-3-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) will look to rebound when she takes on Macy Chiasson (10-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 303 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Silva lost a unanimous decision to Raquel Pennington in their vacant title fight at UFC 297. She later revealed that she partially tore her eardrum in Round 1, which impacted the rest of her performance. Silva won Round 1 on all three judges’ scorecards but went on to lose the next four.

“I think the people saw that I am the best in the world, because I was able to actually neutralize and keep her at bay in that first round,” Silva told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday.

“As everybody knows, I had an injury starting in the second round. So when I was 100 percent, she wasn’t able to do anything, and that’s the lesson I can take out of it.”

Silva predicts a finish over Chiasson and thinks that will be enough to give her another title opportunity.

“I believe I am next because I finish my fights,” Silva said. “I have a lot of Performance of the Night, I have a lot of Fight of the Night (bonuses). No one exists in this division, nobody like me. I am the best.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.