UFC Fight Night: Karine Silva vs Gabriella Fernandes Preview & Prediction

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A women’s flyweight clash with contrasting styles, as former finishing machine Karine Silva looks to snap a two-fight skid against southpaw striker Gabriella Fernandes.

Karine Silva vs Gabriella Fernandes facts

What time are Karine Silva and Gabriella Fernandes expected to walk out? 8 November 2026 at 12:30 am

Where is UFC Fight Night: Cortes-Acosta vs Walker? Meta Apex, Enterprise, USA

Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Cortes-Acosta vs Walker? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 293

What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Cortes-Acosta vs Walker on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount

Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Cortes-Acosta vs Walker? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass

UFC Fight Night: Cortes-Acosta vs Walker main card

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Johnny Walker (Heavyweight)

Tatiana Suarez vs Virna Jandiroba (Women’s Strawweight)

Davey Grant vs Elijah Smith (Bantamweight)

Billy Elekana vs Lucas Fernando (Light Heavyweight)

Priscila Cachoeira vs Nina Nikolija Milosevic (Women’s Bantamweight)

Mitch Raposo vs Marcos Degli (Flyweight)

UFC Fight Night: Cortes-Acosta vs Walker prelims

Keiichiro Nakamura vs Ollie Schmid (Featherweight)

Gabriel Lorenco vs Thomas Petersen (Heavyweight)

Karine Silva vs Gabriella Fernandes (Women’s Flyweight)

Jose Mauro Delano vs Murtazali Magomedov (Featherweight)

Austin Bashi vs Carlos Calderon (Featherweight)

Mantas Kondratavicius vs Andre Petroski (Middleweight)

Ko Seok-hyeon vs Wellington Turman (Welterweight)

Jonny Parsons vs Jose Henrique Souza (Welterweight)

Karine Silva: “Killer” searching for her old finishing touch

Karine Silva (19-7) arrived in the UFC as one of the scariest finishers at 125 pounds. Seventeen of her 19 wins have come inside the distance, and she became the first woman in UFC history to win three straight fights by first-round submission. That finishing touch has dried up against ranked opposition, though. Her last five fights have all gone to the judges, and she’s dropped back-to-back unanimous decisions to Maycee Barber and Jasmine Jasudavicius. Silva fights with aggressive forward pressure that forces opponents to grapple with her and walks them into her submission game, but she has struggled when the woman across from her can grapple back.

Gabriella Fernandes: Patient southpaw with an upset already on her resume 

Gabriella Fernandes (11-4) owns one of the bigger upsets in recent women’s flyweight history. A huge underdog against Wang Cong in Macau, she rallied from a losing position to drop her and choke her out in round two. It’s still the only loss of Wang’s career outside of the title fight loss. She’s also beaten Carli Judice on a split decision, and Judice has gone on a nice run since. Fernandes is a southpaw kickboxer who prefers to work at range behind her straight shots. Her grappling is reactive – she rarely shoots her own takedowns but will snatch at submissions when they appear. She was knocked out in the first round by Casey O’Neill last time out.

Karine Silva vs Gabriella Fernandes prediction

This one comes down to where the fight takes place. On the feet, Silva is the more aggressive of the two, but Fernandes is the more patient and skilled striker, and past the first round she should take over at range with her straight shots. The longer it stays standing, the better it gets for the Brazilian southpaw.

The problem is that Fernandes’ takedown defence isn’t impenetrable. Look at the shared opponent: Jasudavicius beat both women, and she ground Fernandes out on the mat to do it. Silva has good takedown timing and should be able to time her shots as Fernandes commits to her straight combinations. She got Barber down twice, and while Barber’s strength let her reverse position, Fernandes doesn’t offer that same physical threat on the floor.

Once it hits the mat, Silva is the far more skilled grappler, and Fernandes’ opportunistic submission attempts shouldn’t be enough to catch her. A finish is harder to call. Silva hasn’t come close to reproducing her regional finishing run at this level, and five straight trips to the scorecards tell that story. Expect a controlling, grinding performance on the ground rather than a highlight.

Prediction: Karine Silva to win by decision