"Queen of Violence" Ariane da Silva, PFL CEO gives Pittsburgh crowd rave reviews

Ariane da Silva walks out for the PFL Pittsburgh event Saturday night at the UPMC Events Center in Moon Township. Josh Rizzo/Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges

MOON TWP - Ariane Da Silva considered retiring after her time with the UFC came to an end. After all the time the Brazil native spent honing her martial arts skills, she wasn't quite ready to let things go.

When da Silva made her debut in front of a crowd that hadn't seen a global MMA promotion come to town in nine years, she felt good about her decision to stay in the sport. Da Silva picked up a 29-28 (x3) unanimous decision win over Sumiko Inaba during a flyweight bout.

"Pittsburgh was amazing from the first day we came here," da Silva said. "Everyone was cheering and enjoying the fight. I enjoyed my night in Pittsburgh and debut in the PFL."

da Silva last fought for the UFC in June 2025, which saw her lose her third straight fight against Wang Cong at UFC 316. During her UFC tenure, da Silva never quite lived up to the championship-level hype she came into the promotion with. Da Silva, who is 18-11 on her career, was 6-8 in the UFC.

During the fight with Inaba, da Silva dropped Inaba in the second round and nearly finished the fight. With the win, da Silva has put herself in line to challenge Dakota Ditcheva for the championship.

"I feel amazing," da Silva said. "I feel great to not be retired. I went through, I recovered myself and gave myself a change for my career. With all my years in martial arts, I can't finish like that. The PFL gave me another opportunity. It was a really great opportunity."

Laurel High School graduate Dalton Rosta greets a fan as he walks toward the cage Saturday at the UPMC Events Center during PFL Pittsburgh, Josh Rizzo/Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges

Oh Mama
​Fighting in front of a hometown crowd allowed Laurel High School graduate Dalton Rosta to build a lot of energy before his fight in the co-main event with Impa Kasangany. While Rosta brought the arena's temperature up with his walkout that featured him coming out to "Renegade", wearing a Steelers hat and twirling a Terrible Towel, things didn't go according to plan.

Rosta aggressively went after Kasanganay, who is a former PFL champion, UFC veteran and a dangerous striker.

Kasanganay ended up scoring a first-round knockout, which was the second consecutive KO loss for Rosta, who fell to 11-3.

PFL reintroduces itself to Steel City, USA

​PFL CEO John Martin held a meeting with the press after the event. He said that he likes the idea of having local fighters in their home markets. There were three guys with Western Pennsylvania ties -- Ethan Goss, Josh Fremd and Rosta -- on the card.

"I didn't know what to expect," Martin said. "This is my fifth show since I've been here. Not all the places we've had shows have the same level of crowd involvement and intensity. These are the type of events I want to put on at the PFL where it feels like there are energy. The fighters could feel it, the fans enjoyed it and I want to put on events where the fans want and appreciate it."

Martin was impressed with how the crowd arrived early for the event. He said he felt the venue was 80 percent full by the end of the opening fight. That's not something that always happens with MMA fight cards, which typically feature more than 10 fights.

"When you go to these cities that don't get the live events all the time, they are appreciative. It was a knowledgeable crowd tonight. I'm happy with the start to the new year."

Martin thought it was important to be back in the United States after having a number of international events.

"We were sold out," Martin said. "This is the first event we've had back in the United States in seven or eight months. That's a long time to be out of the country."

Josh Rizzo is the sports editor of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected].