UFC women’s strawweight Polyana Viana will be looking to replicate her last night out in the cage at UFC Fight Night 206.
This weekend, Viana will take on fellow Brazilian Tabitha Ricci on Saturday at the UFC Apex, Las Vegas. Viana will mark her return to competition after 15 months. Making her way into the UFC ranks through Jungle Fight and Watch Out Combat Show, the 29-year-old didn’t have the dream start she hoped for.
After a win in her debut fight in the UFC against Maia Kahaunaele-Stevenson, Viana experienced a skid in her career. ‘Dama de Ferro’ dropped three in a row before finding her form again in her latest two outings.
Viana reversed her fortunes against Emily Whitmire in August 2020. She dispatched Whitmire in the opening round with an armbar submission. In her most recent fight, Viana replicated her prior performance to beat Mallory Martin in a similar fashion with an armbar submission in the very first round.
Polyana Viana hints at a “funny” bonus
Ahead of her upcoming fight with Tabitha Ricci, Polyana Viana teased a peculiar trick up her sleeve. Without going into much detail, she stated her intent to reproduce another bonus-winning performance at UFC Fight Night 206.
“In a very funny way. It’s a surprise.”
Viana shared her thoughts on how she expects the fight to play out.
“I think it might go to the ground because we’re both from jiu-jitsu, but it might be a standup fight for exactly that reason… I’d rather it ends in the first round.”
It’s clear that Viana is aiming to add the extra cash to her paycheck. She did manage to secure a cool $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus in her last outing and a performance like that could easily grab her the extra money. Holly Holm will headline the card against Ketlen Vieira and will likely challenge for the bonus as well.
