Polyana Viana’s Even Keel

Polyana Viana prefers to take everything in stride.

The 31-year-old Brazilian will attempt to even her Ultimate Fighting Championship record at 5-5 when she squares off with Gillian Robertson as part of the UFC 297 undercard this Saturday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. A member of the UFC roster since 2018, Viana has alternated wins and losses in each of her past three appearances and finds herself on the rebound following a second-round submission defeat to Iasmin Lucindo at UFC on ESPN 51 in August.

“Despite highs and lows, thankfully I’ve been in the UFC for a long time,” she told Sherdog.com. “I can’t really say that any individual bout was the most important. The most important one is always the next. I don’t subscribe much to any philosophy about learning from defeat. I feel we learn, whether we lose or win. In the end, screw it. If we lose, we just have to hold our heads high and get back to training.”

Robertson was cast on Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series in 2017 and arrived in the UFC soon after. The Din Thomas-trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has compiled a 9-6 mark inside the Octagon, her run highlighted by submission victories against Hannah Cifers, Emily Whitmire, Molly McCann, Veronica Hardy, Cortney Casey, Priscila Cachoeira, Mariya Agapova and Piera Rodriguez. Robertson, 28, last competed on June 24, when she dropped a three-round unanimous decision to Tabatha Ricci at UFC on ABC 5.

“I watched some of her fights,” Viana said. “Most of her wins are by submission, but everyone has holes in their game. She does. I do. I feel our bout will mostly play out on the mat, since that’s what we both favor. I see myself submitting her.”

A former Jungle Fight champion, Viana sees herself as an ascending talent in the 115-pound weight class. Finishes of the aforementioned Whitmire, Mallory Martin and former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Jinh Yu Frey—the latter via 47-second knockout—fuel her self-belief. Viana can envision a scenario where she gets past Robertson and rises rapidly through the women’s strawweight ranks in 2024.

“I want to make it into the Top 5 this year, so hopefully I can continue climbing up and hopefully fight for the belt next year,” she said. “I wouldn’t expect that to happen this year, since our weight class is jam-packed. Plus, it’s full of talent in the Top 15. I’m working every day to become even better.”