Latest news with #ArianedaSilva
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UFC Fighter Ariane da Silva's Brain Tumor Made Weight Cut Impossible, Now Promotion May Cut Her After Third Consecutive Loss
UFC Fighter Ariane da Silva's Brain Tumor Made Weight Cut Impossible, Now Promotion May Cut Her After Third Consecutive Loss originally appeared on Athlon Sports. UFC fighters routinely push their bodies to dangerous extremes just to step on the scale—starving for weeks, sweating out water in saunas until they faint, and enduring kidney-straining dehydration protocols. The sport's weight-cutting culture forces athletes to gamble with their health, often walking the line between competition and hospitalization in pursuit of a size advantage. Advertisement These practices persist despite medical emergencies. Behind every weigh-in, there's often an untold story of suffering that does not get the spotlight as much as the knockout finishes and the trash talk. Dana WhiteGetty Images UFC flyweight Ariane da Silva's shocking six-pound weight miss ahead of her UFC 316 bout against Wang Cong was caused by complications from a benign pituitary tumor, her coach and husband Renato da Silva revealed during an interview with MMA Fighting. The Brazilian fighter, who tipped the scales at 132 pounds—well above the 126-pound non-title limit—underwent a dangerous weight cut attempt while managing hormonal imbalances triggered by the tumor. Advertisement Blood tests during her camp showed elevated prolactin and cortisol levels, leading to the discovery of the tumor, which disrupted her body's ability to shed weight safely. The situation worsened when da Silva's team enlisted a new nutritionist, whose strategy to retain water until the final days of the weight cut, backfired catastrophically. Renato described harrowing symptoms during the final push, including double vision, slurred speech, and loss of motor control—clear signs her body was shutting down. He emphasized that UFC medical staff intervened to halt the cut after deeming it life-threatening, saying, 'She wasn't walking right, blinking too slow, and couldn't focus.' Advertisement Her coach's decision to allow her to continue to fight despite these issues was baffling and was met with criticism by some people online. SportingNews journalist Val Dewar shared the interview on X (formerly Twitter), and expressed his opinion that 'Fighting with a tumor in your f— brain, even a benign one, seems like a bad Idea. Like, [a] really, really bad idea.' Her opponent Wang Cong was gracious enough to agree to a catchweight bout despite the weight disparity and accepted 30% of da Silva's purse. Wang also expressed sympathy on social media towards da Silva and her struggle trying to make weight, saying, 'After she came out, I went over to see her situation. Fortunately, there is no big problem, because it's not easy for every athlete.' Advertisement Da Silva ultimately lost a unanimous decision to Cong, extending her skid to three fights and putting her in the crosshairs of being cut from the promotion. The incident casts a spotlight on MMA's weight-cutting crisis, where fighters often gamble with extreme measures to hit weight targets before a fight. Da Silva's case is uniquely alarming due to the tumor's role, raising questions about whether she should have been cleared to fight at all. The UFC has yet to address if da Silva will receive medical suspension or specialized support moving forward. Related: UFC Champion Alexander Volkanovski Suffers Medical Scare During Fight 'I could not see' Related: UFC Coach Reveals He Nearly Pulled Out 'Half-Dead' Champion from Title Defense Due to Severe Medical Issues This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
07-06-2025
- Health
- USA Today
Ariane da Silva's team says big UFC 316 weight miss related to pituitary tumor treatment
Ariane da Silva's team says big UFC 316 weight miss related to pituitary tumor treatment UFC women's flyweight Ariane da Silva stepped on the scale Friday morning closer to the bantamweight division, and her team has since provided a shocking explanation. Da Silva (17-10 MMA, 6-7 UFC) is scheduled to face Wang Cong at UFC 316 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) in a preliminary bout at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., but the fight was in jeopardy of not going forward after the official weigh-in session. Weighing in at 132 pounds, da Silva came in six pounds over the flyweight limit. Cong (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who made 125 pounds on the nose, would have been justified in refusing the fight, but decided to keep the bout alive. Renato da Silva, Ariane's husband, told MMA Fighting that a poor treatment plan for a benign pituitary tumor led to complications with the weight cut. According to Ariane's coach, the tumor was discovered during further examination after a blood test during fight camp showed abnormal levels of prolactin and cortisol. The team brought in a new nutritionist to deal with the weight cut for UFC 316, but the plan did not work. "We wanted to get the cortisol levels down so it wouldn't affect her health," Renato told MMA Fighting in Portuguese (translated by MMA Fighting). "By controlling the cortisol levels, we wanted to cause as little stress as possible to her body. And the nutritionist opted for a strategy that would have her hold as much as weight as possible until the end, and it was too much for the final days. He doesn't know her as much as I do, and he thought she would be able to do that. "There was a moment this morning she wasn't feeling good. I know her body. There was still something left there to cut, but at the same time, her reactions weren't normal. She wasn't walking right, she was blinking too slow, she had double vision, and couldn't focus, her voice sounded weak. She was giving us dangerous signs as she dropped weight." After contacting the UFC's medical staff, it was determined that attempting to cut the remaining six pounds would be too dangerous, so the weight cut was stopped. The team places some blame on the nutritionist's plan to get Ariane to the flyweight limit. "It was too much (weight) for such a short amount of time," Renato said. "I think that was the mistake by the nutritionist. We trusted the process, and unfortunately, it didn't work. It's a mistake we made. I also made that mistake as a coach, to have believed and tried something different, but my goal is always to take care of the health of Ariane, an athlete and also my wife. I'll always put her health first." Cong accepted the new terms of the fight after weigh-ins, which included 30 percent of da Silva's purse, and the fight changed to a catchweight at 132 pounds.
New York Post
06-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Drama builds for loaded UFC 316 card as one fighter misses weight by shocking amount
The only thing separating us from two scintillating title fights at UFC 316 in Newark is time. All main card fighters successfully made weight Friday morning, with Kayla Harrison making the contracted cut-off of 135 pounds for her title fight against champion Julianna Pena in the co-main event. One preliminary card fighter, though, missed weight by a stunning amount. 3 Kayla Harrison made 135lbs for the first time in her career on Friday. Zuffa LLC Harrison, 34, previously never made 135 pounds and certainly looked drained on the scales, but she is surely rehydrating now as she prepares to fight for a world title Saturday. The first to the scale, perhaps surprisingly, was the 'Sugar Show' Sean O'Malley, who is looking to recapture his bantamweight gold against Merab Dvalishvili. O'Malley was defeated by Dvalishvili last October at The Sphere in Las Vegas. The only fighter to miss the cut Friday was Ariane da Silva (formerly Ariane Lipski), who missed weight by six pounds. 3 Julianna Pena will face Kayla Harrison on Saturday night for the women's bantamweight title. Zuffa LLC UFC 316 weigh-in results Fighter Weight (pounds) Merab Dvalishvili 134 Sean O'Malley 135 Julianna Peña 135 Kayla Harrison 135 Kelvin Gastelum 185 Joe Pyfer 185 Mario Bautista 135.1 Patchy Mix 135.1 Kevin Holland 170.1 Vicente Luque 170 Bruno Silva 125 Joshua Van 125.1 Azamat Murzakanov 205 Brendson Ribeiro 205 Waldo Cortes-Acosta 265 Serghei Spivac 251 Andreas Gustafsson 170 Khaos Williams 170 Wang Cong 125 Ariane da Silva 132* Jeka Saragih 145 Joo Sang Yoo 145.1 Yanal Ashmouz 155 Quillan Salkilld 156 Mark Choinski 155 MarQuel Mederos 155 * Missed weight UFC broadcaster and former two-division champion Daniel Cormier was stunned she weighed 132 pounds when her maximum allowance was 126 pounds. 'Six pounds overweight? Well, that fight ain't happening,' Cormier said on the broadcast of the weigh-ins. 'How do you go up there at six pounds over? At six pounds over, you don't go up there.' 3 Ariane da Silva missed weight by six pounds but the fight is expected to go on. Zuffa LLC Despite the massive weight miss, her opponent, Wang Cong, revealed on Instagram that she accepted the fight and will receive a portion of da Silva's fight purse as compensation.
