Fighters on the Rise | UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Brady

Natalia Silva of Brazil celebrates defeating Jasmine Jasudavicius of Canada in their women’s flyweight fight at the UFC Fight Night event at Moody Center on June 18, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Highlighting The Ascending Talents Stepping Into The Octagon This Weekend

By E. Spencer Kyte, on X: @SpencerKyte • Sep. 3, 2024

Last September, Benoit Saint Denis announced his presence as a bonafide Top 15 fighter in the lightweight division, Morgan Charierre made his electric UFC debut, Carlos Ulberg kept it rolling, Chepe Mariscal collected a second win in a couple moths, and both Daniel Zellhuber and Raul Rosas Jr. wrapped up finishes at the inaugural Noche UFC event at T-Mobile Arena.

Those are just a handful of the breakout efforts that transpired over the month last year inside the Octagon, and as this year’s September action readies to kick off this weekend at the UFC APEX, we thought we’d highlight a trio of competitors that are looking to have their breakthrough moments this weekend.

Welcome to the latest installment of Fighters on the Rise.

Natalia Silva

All Silva has done since touching down in the UFC a little over two years ago is win.

Natalia Silva Lands Spinning Back Kick KO | UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs Cutelaba

The 27-year-old Brazilian debuted with a win over Jasmine Jasudavicius in June 2022, followed it up with finishes of Tereza Bleda and Victoria Leonardo, and has since aded unanimous decision nods over Andrea Lee and Viviane Araujo to her resume to move to 5-0 inside the Octagon and extend her winning streak to 11 straight overall.

Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview

A taekwondo stylist out of Team Borracha, Silva is athletic and technical, working behind good movement and quick strikes, led by an assortment of kicks which she triggers to all levels. She knocked out Bleda with a spinning back kick to the face and stopped Leonardo with a head kick and punches, and routinely attacks inside and outside of opponents’ legs and the body, as well.

Over her last two outings, Silva has shown that she’s a clear Top 15 talent in need of another step up in competition, and she gets that this weekend in the form of a clash with fellow Brazilian Jessica Andrade.

Natalia Silva of Brazil kicks Viviane Araujo of Brazil in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on February 03, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

The most experienced female fighter on the roster, Andrade is a former strawweight titleholder and one of two women currently ranked in the Top 15 at both 115 and 125 pounds; Amanda Ribas is the other. While she faltered in her last start at flyweight, it’s hard to fault her for a loss to Erin Blanchfield, and her recent wins over Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez show that the former champ and perennial contender still has plenty left to offer.

This is a massive opportunity for Silva — a chance to not only best a former titleholder and Top 10 mainstay, but also a situation where she can catapult herself into the thick of the crowded title chase in the 125-pound ranks with a dominant effort, as there are a number of key fights in the division on the slate for the next few weeks and months, including the championship trilogy bout at Noche UFC.

Beating Andrade is a tall order, but Silva can put herself front-and-center in any title conversations if she’s able to extend her unbeaten streak inside the Octagon to six on Saturday.

Kyle Nelson

After entering 2023 on a two-fight slide and with his back against the wall, Nelson touches down for his second appearance of 2024 riding a four-fight unbeaten streak.

Kyle Nelson of Canada punches Blake Bilder in their featherweight fight during the UFC 289 event at Rogers Arena on June 10, 2023 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

The Canadian veteran’s quality run began with a majority draw result against Dooho Choi last February before he ventured to Vancouver and registered a unanimous decision win over Blake Bilder at UFC 296. Three months later, he bested Fernando Padilla on the scorecards at Noche UFC, and back in March, he picked up his first stoppage win in four-and-a-half years by registering a first-round finish of Bill Algeo in Atlantic City.

There is nothing flashy about Nelson as a fighter; he’s just a fundamentally sound, experienced competitor that always works at a good clip, keeps the pressure on at all times, and understands how to fight within himself. While that might sound boring to some, it’s actually quite an underrated approach and clearly paying dividends for the bearded Muskoka native.

Saturday night, Nelson faces off with Steve Garcia in a matchup of streaking vets looking to keep things rolling.

The 32-year-old Garcia got his run of success going a little sooner than Nelson, collecting his first of four straight stoppage wins in the fall of ’22. Last time out, the 32-year-old Albuquerque resident, who steps in here for Calvin Kattar, dropped SeungWoo Choi in the opening stanza, extending his record to 16-5 overall and 5-2 inside the Octagon.

Featherweight feels like it’s on the brink of change, especially when it comes to the complexion of the lower third of the rankings, and halting Garcia’s quality run of results could bring Nelson one step closer to breaking into the Top 15.

Jaqueline Amorim

Amorim made her promotional debut last April at UFC 287, facing off with Fortis MMA representative Sam Hughes.

Jaqueline Amorim Gets The Armbar Submission On McKenna | UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs Tybura

At the time, the Brazilian jiu jitsu ace was 6-0, having finished all of her opponents in the opening round while only spending more than two minutes in the cage exactly once during that stretch. Paired off with her most experienced opponent to date, Amorim started well, but faded, and was ultimately bested by the savvy, tenacious Hughes.

It was clearly a valuable lesson and needed wake-up call as since that first appearance in the Octagon, Amorim has shown solid improvements while getting back to her winning — and finishing — ways.

Big UFC Fights Ahead For This September

After earning a third-round submission win over Montserrat Conejo Ruiz in her sophomore outing, Amorim made quick work of the returning Cory McKenna in March, dragging the Welsh prospect to the canvas and attacking an armbar, securing the tap just 98 seconds into the contest to pick up a second straight win and advance to 8-1 overall. This weekend, the American Top Team representative takes a considerable step up in competition once again, facing off with former LFA champ and divisional mainstay Vanessa Demopoulos in a fascinating preliminary card pairing.

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The 35-year-old “Lil Monster” has more career victories than Amorim has fights, and enters having earned wins in each of her last two appearances, as well as four of her last five overall. She has thrived in close, competitive battles and has the flexibility and scrambling skills to theoretically present the 29-year-old prospect with challenges should things hit the canvas on Saturday.

Getting stuck in with Hughes to start her UFC career was a bit of a tall ask for Amorim, but she’s steadied herself, found her footing, and now gets the opportunity to show she’s ready to push forward in the 115-pound ranks. Demopoulos is a game veteran, and a win over her to move to 3-1 inside the Octagon will not go unnoticed.

Don't miss a moment of UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Brady, live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 7, 2024. Prelims start at 4pm ET/1pm PT, while the main card kicks off live on ESPN+ at 7pm ET/4pm PT.