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Jun 27, 2026

Ariane Lipski eyes PFL title after turbulent UFC run

Ariane Lipski eyes PFL title after turbulent UFC run

Christian Stein Jun 26, 2026
At 32 years of age, Ariane Lipski da Silva is now fully committed to the third major stage in her professional mixed martial arts career.

After showing great promise in the local Brazilian scene, the invitation came to join Poland’s famed Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki promotion. In the KSW, not only did she win their flyweight belt, she went on to defend it twice.

Advertisement Stage one completed.

After years of UFC setbacks, Lipski believes best is to come


The Ultimate Fighting Championship came calling in 2018, but a reported foot injury by booked opponent Maryna Moroz meant that her actual debut wouldn’t take place until the following year.

In hindsight, it may have been an omen of things to come. Her Octagon tenure may hold some sort of record to the highest percentage of canceled bouts or opponent changes. In under 7 years, da Silva racked up a record of 6-8, with nine matchups being either canceled or postponed. Twice, da Silva could not compete. Seven other cancellations took place due to a laundry list of things you’d hope won’t happen to an MMA opponent, including but not limited to injuries, illnesses, failed PED tests and travel restrictions.

“To a certain extent, the opponent changes always had an effect. But I wouldn’t blame my losses on that,” da Silva told Sherdog.com.

“For some bouts, I wasn’t physically well. I still accepted those challenges, believing I could still win. At other times, I wasn’t mentally well. And I still believed I’d get the win. And there were times where everything, physical and mental, felt perfect but once I was in the fight, my body wasn’t reacting correctly. All were lessons to be learned. It takes experience to truly understand how one’s body works, and to consistently translate training into positive results. Lessons were learned so I could come back even stronger.”

Stage two completed.

From UFC frustration to PFL contender: Lipski believes time has arrived


Now, after beating dangerous Hawaiian Sumiko Inaba in her Professional Fighters League debut this past March, da Silva hopes that third time is the charm.

“Of course, I was happy with that win, though I would have preferred to get a finish. I came close on the second round, when I knocked my opponent down. I lacked the techniques for finishing the fight at that moment. But I came back to my academy and trained for that scenario. I find ways to evolve from every fight, though I always feel I have more to learn, even after a win. Now, I’m getting ready for Jena Bishop. I know she has very good jiu-jitsu. I’m putting myself in situations so I’ll know how my body should react. It’s a clash of styles – striker versus grappler. My jiu-jitsu level is better than her striking level. As such, I feel I’m at an advantage. My experience, physical strength, and standup technique will make the difference. I’m constantly improving my ground skills. I’m looking forward to an excellent performance against Bishop on Saturday.”

The preparation for grappling ace Bishop, same as before, took place at Florida’s American Top Team. It’s been da Silva’s MMA home since 2023.

“We still have the same training format. My head coach is my husband, Renato Silva He coordinates my strategy as well as my work with other coaches and training partners. My jiu-jitsu coach is Vagner Rocha and Desmond Moore takes care of my wrestling. We’ve been working this way since I joined American Top Team. It’s how I train best -- a camp focused on me with my team helping simulate my opponents.”

Top notch featherweights headline PFL San Diego: Tune in Saturday, June 27 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN 2.

A more mature da Silva’s has lofty goals for this third major stage.

“I’m always fully focused on my next opponent. Of course, it’s also important to make longer-term plans within the organization. I believe our weight class is still a bit scrambled. We don’t have a champion. A flyweight belt is not yet up for dispute, though I’m confident that an excellent performance against Jena Bishop will allow me the chance to fight for the PFL championship.” « Previous PFL shifts MENA show from June 19 to July 10 Next ‘Arya Stark’ details journey from cleaning bathrooms to PFL San Diego » More

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