Maria Silva Record: 10-1-0

Contender Series, the lone loss, and a KSW run

Silva's profile rose sharply when she earned a spot on Dana White's Contender Series in October 2021, where she outpointed Kathryn Paprocki over three rounds. She followed it with a third-round rear-naked choke of the unbeaten 6-0 Ewelina Wozniak at Ares FC 4 in early 2022. A second Contender Series appearance in August 2022 brought the only loss of her career – a decision defeat to unbeaten Victoria Dudakova. Silva bounced back emphatically by signing with Poland's KSW, where she went undefeated through her opening run: a second-round rear-naked choke of the 7-2 Sofiia Bagishvili at KSW 81 in April 2023, followed by a decision over the experienced 7-3 Anita Bekus at KSW 88 in November 2023.

Fighting style

Silva is a finisher built on grappling. Four of her ten wins have come by submission and three by knockout, against three decisions, for a finish rate around 70 percent. She is dangerous and slick on the mat, able to fight on top or off her back, and her best wins – the guillotine of Jainne Aguiar and the rear-naked chokes of Ewelina Wozniak and Sofiia Bagishvili – came by outgrappling quality opposition. That submission game is complemented by real striking power, making her difficult to game-plan against. Her lone professional loss came on the scorecards rather than by finish, a testament to her durability even in defeat.

Career highlights

• 10-1 with a strong finishing rate — seven of her ten wins came inside the distance, split between four submissions and three knockouts.
• Two Contender Series appearances — reached Dana White's Contender Series twice, beating Kathryn Paprocki before her only career loss to Victoria Dudakova.
• Undefeated KSW run — signed with Poland's KSW and won her opening bouts, choking out the 7-2 Sofiia Bagishvili and outpointing the veteran Anita Bekus.