When you’re battered by back-to-back defeats and sidelined for over a year by a serious injury, most would break—but not Polyana Viana. The past 18 months have been nothing short of hell for the Sao Geraldo do Araguaia native. After reaching the peak of her career with a 47-second knockout of Jinh Yu Frey, Viana’s momentum came to a screeching halt with consecutive losses to Gillian Robertson and Iasmin Lucindo. Just as she was eyeing a comeback, a dislocated patella and ligament damage slammed the brakes on her return. After a year of hiatus, Viana is back in the Octagon, and the MMA world couldn’t keep calm.

With a career record of 13 victories and 7 defeats, Viana made her way to the UFC after years of competing in regional tournaments. After a successful debut against Maia Kahaunaele in 2018, ‘Dama de Ferro’ had to sit through three consecutive losses, which put her career on the back foot. However, she bounced back, defeating both Emily Whitmire and Mallory Martin by way of round 1 armbar submission. Then she battled Tabatha Ricci in a high-octane fight, but she fell short as Ricci clinched victory by way of unanimous decision, and finally, her last win under the UFC came against Jinh Yu Frey.

As she prepares to face Jaqueline Amorim, Polyana Viana has one thing on her mind, and that is to prove everyone wrong. And now, right before the fight against the 29-year-old, Viana appeared for her weigh-in. The result? A stunning 115 and a half pounds that left her flashing a bright smile right after the announcement.

Last year was a time away from competition for her, and it was a year of reflection as well. While having a conversation with the UFC, ‘Dama de Ferro’ stated, “I think no matter what fight you have, you’re always going to have learning. It was a learning experience. I wasn’t feeling my best.”

She further added, “I wasn’t feeling my best mentally for those fights, but it was a learning experience that I’ve had, and I think for sure, now, after going through this camp, we had really good training and I’m going to deliver even better results now.”

When asked about her opponent, Polyana Viana expressed that Jaqueline Amorim is a talented fighter who has her own weapons to throw inside the Octagon, “She’s a very talented girl, great jiu-jitsu, and I see a lot of me in her because I worked a lot of jiu-jitsu when I came into MMA. I’m at a point in my life where I train MMA, and that’s where I needed to adapt. That’s where I see her. She’s very focused on jiu-jitsu, but I’ve been able to actually evolve and go into more MMA-focused training.”

Polyana Viana officially weighed in for the battle, and as she made her weigh-in, the MMA community lost its cool.

The MMA community comes in support of Polyana Viana for her comeback

To start off, it was none other than Mackenzie Dern who stated, “Linda!! Sinistra!!!” What does this mean? Well, if we translate this into English, it would mean ‘Beautiful left.’ Viana shares a friendly relationship with Dern, as there was once a time when she envisioned a dream fight involving Dern, Amanda Nunes, and Natalia Silva—if an alien invasion were to happen.

Furthermore, bantamweight sensation Raul Rosas Jr. was also there to wish a stroke of good luck to Viana. He wrote, “Let’s gooo @polyanaviana 🔥 a ganar.” Moreover, bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili chimed in to increase the morale of the fighter, “Let’s go, Polyana.” It should be noted that ‘The Machine’ and Viana are close friends, as both have appeared in each other’s videos, often participating in funny skits.

Flyweight UFC fighter, Lipe Detona, came forward to congratulate Viana on making her weight, “Parabéns pelo peso poly.”  (Translation: Congratulations on the weight Poly.) That’s not all; Tecia Pennington even stepped forward to boost Viana’s morale, “Let’s go Poly.”

Last but not least, Alex Pereira’s sister, Aline Pereira, also had something to say to the fighter: “Go my beautiful.” It must be noted that there were rumors of Pereira dating Viana last year, but the split happened soon after was due to unforeseen reasons.

As Polyana Viana prepares for her upcoming fight, her supporters stand firmly behind her, eager to witness her victory. With that in mind, what are your thoughts on the fight? Share your opinion in the comments below.