Athletes
Coach Conversation | Raquel Pennington vs Mayra Bueno Silva
Danny Castillo Sits Down With E. Spencer Kyte To Dissect Saturday’s Women’s Bantamweight Title Bout At UFC 297
Ahead of every championship fight, UFC staff writer E. Spencer Kyte will sit down with one the sharpest coaching minds in the sport to break down the action and provide UFC fans with insights into each championship pairing from the men that spend their days getting these elite athletes prepared to compete on the biggest stage in the sport.
For UFC 297, Kyte called upon independent MMA coach Danny Castillo, who currently works with ranked talents Josh Emmett, Maycee Barber, and Song Yadong, amongst others, to provide his thoughts on four points heading into the clash between Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant women’s bantamweight title.
How To Watch UFC 297 In Your Country
Best Trait of Each Fighter
Pennington vs Bueno Silva Co-Main Preview | UFC 297
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Pennington vs Bueno Silva Co-Main Preview | UFC 297
/
Kyte: At a time in the sport where everyone is pretty solid everywhere, generally speaking, what is the one thing that each of these competitors do better than anyone else? What is the one element to their game that stands out the most?
Castillo: I think Rocky’s experience — she’s been around for a long time and she’s fought every different type of fighter that you can imagine. So going into this fight, I think Raquel definitely has the experience, but I also think it’s something you can’t really measure, and that’s her family life. She has different motivations coming into the fight, and I think that might push her over the top.
RELATED: Inside The Co-Main Numbers
If you look at it on paper, I feel like Silva (has a lot of advantages), but just that simple thing of her having extra motivation — when it comes to fights, the best fighter doesn’t always win, unfortunately, and I feel like Rocky has new motivation and that is going to push her through a tough, tough Mayra Bueno Silva.
Kyte: When it comes to Bueno Silva, what’s her best attribute?
Castillo: I feel like she’s tough — she doesn’t let off the gas; she’s not afraid; she comes forward. She’s good on the ground and she’s good on the feet.
You’re talking about a girl that just backed up Holly Holm, who is one of the best strikers in the women’s division. She backed her up, hit her with elbows, and she kept pushing forward, ending the fight with the choke. Watching that fight, seeing her push forward and not be afraid of one of the most dangerous strikers, for me, that’s everything.
Do I think her wrestling is good enough to take Rocky down? I haven’t seen that in her fights, but she has a ton of submissions and her grappling is great.
Path to Victory for Each Fighter
Kyte: Everyone would love a 10-second knockout or a quick submission, but that’s not often how these things go, especially not at the championship level. Instead, it’s usually the competitor that has crafted the better game plan and did the better job of executing things inside the Octagon that comes away with their hand raised and the gold around their waist.
So, how does either woman get it done on Saturday night?
Castillo: I think for Rocky, it’s one of her main attributes — be tough, be durable, and stay in the fight. I think her being able to stay in the fight, mix it up on the ground and on the feet is going to help her win this fight.
UFC 297 Breakdown With Brendan Fitzgerald & Sayif Saud
For Silva, continuing to push forward and slowly break her down (is the approach), possibly ending with a submission.
Kyte: I tend to agree. I think this feels like one of those fights where it flips early and late.
If it ends early, it probably means that Bueno Silva found a finish — either clipped her with something and got a finish or found a choke — and then I agree with you 100 percent that Rocky needs to just be herself, grind out rounds, and let’s see what Bueno Silva looks like in three, four, and five.
Let’s see how that gas tank holds up. Let’s see how everything goes when you’re not running through people, because she’s dominated thus far since going to bantamweight.
Castillo: She’s a very explosive fighter, but who is explosive in the 20th minute? It’s hard to say, and that goes back to the beginning where I talked about Rocky’s experience — she’s been in these fights.
It’s interesting — that’s why you, I, and the rest of the world love MMA: because it’s hard to say.
X Factor
Kyte: If there were one thing that was going to significantly impact how this fight plays out — that swings it in one direction or the other — what would it be?
Castillo: The X factor for me is Rocky’s added motivation with her personal life — I think things like that in your personal life can drive you to be greater than great, and I’ve seen it time and again with different fighters.
UFC 297 Full Fight Card Preview
Cody Garbrandt against Dominick Cruz — he was fighting for something bigger than him and he put on one of the performances of his life. He was fighting for Maddux and I think having that new addition to her family is going to push Rocky to a new level.
As far as Bueno Silva, I think it’s her aggression and trying to get it done early — I think that plays more into her favor than waiting.
Kyte: I think her finishing instincts are such an X factor to me in this division, where you don’t have a ton of finishers, necessarily, especially now that Amanda (Nunes) is gone. It’s such a wild card. It’s the thing that makes her so interesting to me.
She can find that armbar. She hit a kneebar on somebody. She ninja choked Holly Holm and Holly was panic tapping, so you know it’s a real deep choke, not one of these “I’m just gonna tap” situations. It’s an “Oh hell — she’s got me and I’m going out!”
Castillo: She armbarred Egger who has three or four armbars in the UFC. She did her own move on her. When you hit somebody with their own move, you know they’re super-dangerous.
Canada's Greatest UFC Fighters
I believe the more experience she has, the more dangerous a fighter she’s going to become. If she comes out of here with a victory, the confidence and everything that comes with that belt is going to take her to another level.
We might be talking about the next Amanda Nunes. We just have no idea until it happens.
Kyte: I also want to see — Rocky has been here; she’s fought for the title, gone through all the media, all the pageantry and build up. Yes the fight went horribly, but she’s gone through this, knows what it’s like to be in that Octagon with the belt hanging in the balance, knowing those nerves.
To me, that is an invaluable thing. We don’t know how somebody is going to react. We were both in Vancouver when Irene Aldana reacted terribly — had said all the right things, done all the right things, walked out there, and just froze.
Castillo: Yeah, you can’t put a price on that experience.
One Coaching Curiosity
Kyte: Coaches see the sport differently and look at the sport differently than anyone else, picking up on different things and paying attention to movements, habits, or intangible pieces that others might not notice, but that could have a significant impact on the action inside the Octagon.
Every matchup offers its own unique collection of elements that might pique a coach’s interest and get them paying a little closer attention to once the fight gets underway.
So what is that one thing in this matchup?
MMA Coaches Break Down The UFC 297 Strickland vs Du Plessis Main Event
Castillo: For me, I’m involved and invested in every weight class — well, I don’t have any heavyweights — so I’m always just watching every aspect of the game.
I love this sport so much. It’s interesting for me to hear the corners. It’s interesting for me to see the walkouts, all that stuff. This is why I love the sport — everything is so intriguing to me, so I’ll watching everything.
We got Mike Malott on that card. We’ve got the middleweight championship fight on that card.
It’s a great card and I’m just so excited — the last four weeks, I’ve been going out of my mind (without fights).
Kyte: Me too, but we don’t have to deal with that any more. Enjoy the fights!
UFC 297: Strickland vs Du Plessis took place live from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on January 20, 2024. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
