This Saturday (27), at UFC Vegas 91, Ariane Lipski faces compatriot Karine Silva in a flyweight (57 kg) ranked duel that reinforces the main card of the event. In addition to nationality, the duo also shares a past of training together – when they had not yet emerged prominently in Ultimate. But history does not tend to define the direction of combat. At least that’s what the ‘Queen of Violence’ believes.
In an exclusive interview with the news team at Ag Fight, Ariane minimized any type of advantage or disadvantage arising from the period in which she trained with her next opponent. The ‘striker’ stressed that, since then, both have evolved and become competitors very different from the time when they shared the mats in Curitiba. In this way, the Queen of Violence stated that she did not base her strategy on her history with Karine.
“There is a lot of information that one can take from the other, but I didn’t base it on that for my camp. Just as I am a new person and an athlete, I have changed a lot, I believe that too, I believe that she has transformed, changed her characteristics and evolved technically. So my focus is more on who she is now, on her latest performances, than on our training. There are things we can study, but basing it on our training is something that is not advantageous, because it was five, six years ago. We are different athletes now. So my focus is – as with any other opponent – on her latest performances. Because that’s what I can see of her most recently, that’s what I based it on. Our contact was very professional, we arrived at the gym as training partners and then we no longer kept in touch”, highlighted the Curitiba native.
100% utilization in 2023
Number 12 in the ranking at 57 kg, Ariane is riding on the biggest winning streak in Ultimate. In 2023 alone, there were three triumphs in the most famous MMA company in the world. The positive results, combined with the growing performance, were enough for the Brazilian to choose last season as the best of her career as a professional fighter. Facing Karine ‘Killer’, the Queen of Violence aims to maintain her good form and start 2024 on the right foot.
