MMA fighters often push their bodies to extreme limits while cutting weight before their bouts. Brazilian fighter Ariane Lipski da Silva had a tough time at UFC 316, both in and out of the octagon. Her fight against Wang Cong didn’t go well. First, she missed weight, then lost by unanimous decision, and later it was revealed that she was dealing with a benign tumor that affected her preparation in the lead-up to the bout.
Ariane da Silva Shows Her Battle Scars After UFC 316
Silva came in heavy for her early preliminary card fight against Cong. She missed the 126-pound flyweight limit by six pounds. The fight ultimately took place at the 132-pound catchweight, and the “Queen of Violence” had to give 30% of her fight purse to the Chinese fighter.
It was her second weight miss in the UFC. The last time she missed was in 2022 because of a COVID-19 infection, but this time, the reason seems a bit more serious. MMA Fighting reported that the Brazilian’s coach, Renato da Silva Jr., revealed that doctors found high prolactin and abnormal cortisol levels in her tests in the lead-up to the fight. Upon further tests, it was found that she had a benign pituitary tumor.
“We (recently) discovered a small benign tumor in her pituitary gland that was altering her hormone levels,” he said in an interview shared by MMA Fighting on X. “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.”
Ariane da Silva’s longtime coach says the UFC 316 fighter’s weight miss was due to benign tumor on her pituitary gland, and some bad advice. 👀
(Via @guicruzzz) pic.twitter.com/H41ZsMKzL0
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 6, 2025
The coach added that her body was “showing signs that it was time to stop.” Renato blamed himself and the team for the weight-cut fiasco and later added, “It was too much [weight] for such a short amount of time. 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,” the Brazilian coach added.
However, it seems like the fighter is living by her nickname. Despite such a health scare, the “Queen of Violence” is proudly owning her battle scars, showing them off on her Instagram stories. In her first story, she showed her bruised and swollen legs with the caption, “Everything Fine,” giving a glimpse of how much damage Cong’s calf kicks had done.
In another story, she showed her black eye and the bruises she endured from Cong’s punches with a caption, “War 🔥.”
After the loss to Cong, the Brazilian fighter is now on a three-fight losing streak in the UFC. She has lost eight out of 14 fights so far in the promotion. Considering her record, the UFC might consider letting her go if she doesn’t come back stronger and produce some wins.