“Nobody wants to watch this fight, I know” - Mayra Bueno Silva acknowledges public apathy towards UFC 297 title clash with Raquel Pennington

Mayra Bueno Silva recently shared her thoughts on her upcoming women's bantamweight title fight against Raquel Pennington and acknowledged the public's lack of interest in the UFC 297 co-main event.

There had been plenty of criticism toward the UFC for booking the vacant women's bantamweight title fight on the pay-per-view, especially after it was confirmed as one of the headliners for UFC 297. While speaking to Middle Easy, the No.3 ranked women's bantamweight mentioned that she is well aware of the public's apathy but noted that she is determined to win the fans over with her performance:

"On paper, it's not a good fight because nobody wants to watch this fight - I know...This fight on paper is no good. But I promise I will give a big show for everybody. Everybody [will go] home and think about, 'Hey, this girl Mayra Bueno Silva is the chosen one.'" [10:31 - 10:57]

'Sheetara' also noted that Pennington is a formidable opponent and isn't taking her lightly. She mentioned that the former title challenger is a tough opponent to finish but is confident that she will win in spectacular fashion, saying:

"I will knock her out - I believe this...I believe - 100 percent." [2:41 - 2:46]

The women's bantamweight division will have a new champion at UFC 297, which will be a new era of sorts as former champion Amanda Nunes had dominated the division for years and has since retired.

Check out the full interview below:

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Mayra Bueno Silva opens up about her beef with Julianna Pena

Despite being sidelined due to an injury, former UFC women's bantamweight champion Julianna Pena continues to target the top-ranked fighters, with Mayra Bueno Silva being one of them.

During the aforementioned conversation, the No.3 ranked women's bantamweight opened up about her ongoing beef with the former TUF winner and how it all began. She mentioned that their beef is now personal because Pena has brought up her mental health, saying:

"She's joking about one serious things for me and for a lot of people in the world...I don't like her [Julianna Pena], I don't think she's a good person because she talks about things very important." [10:04 - 10:22]