Polyana Viana is a professional Brazilian Mixed Martial Artist who has competed in the Strawweight category of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She has also competed in various other MMA tournaments, such as Jungle Fight, Watch Out Combat Show, Maraba Combat, Demolidor Extreme Combat 3, Araguatins Fight Night MMA, TUF 1 – Talento Uruara Fight, and RF Real Fight, as a Strawweight and Flyweight contender. She became an internet sensation after she disclosed her incident with the cab driver.
Wiki/Biography
Polyana Viana, born as Polyana Viana Mota, was born on Sunday, 14 June 1992 (age 31 years; as of 2023) in Sao Geraldo do Araguaia, Pará, Brazil. Her zodiac sign is Gemini.
Polyana Viana during her teenage
Polyana completed her schooling from E.E Macário Dantas in 2009. She started going to college but left it and started working at a Gas station. In 2013, she began her training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and later that year, she made her debut as a fighter. She kept moving from town to town in pursuit of a full-time career as a fighter. She came to know about Alex Davis, a well-known MMA manager and wanted to try her luck by asking him for help. According to Viana, Davis initially proposed bringing her to the U.S. However, due to her son, this decision was not possible for her. Later on, Davis recommended she move to Rio de Janeiro to train with his colleague, Tata Duarte, at the renowned Tata Fight Team (TFT). In an interview she said,
It was hard. I stalled Tata for like two or three months after talking to Alex. I had to look for sponsors. At that point I had stopped fighting. I didn’t want that for myself. So when I decided it, I had to look for sponsorship again. I waited for the mayo; he told me he’d help me. A friend of mine bought a ticket for me, a date was set, and I went with nothing but determination. When I first got there, the only one who helped me was my mom. When I arrived, Tata got me a sponsor. And then more sponsors started coming along, a few of them from my city. And things started working out, you know.”
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Weight (approx.): 53 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Figure Measurements (approx.): 34-28-34
Family
Polyana Viana was born into a Brazilian family in Sao Geraldo do Araguaia.
Parents & Siblings
Polyana was raised by her single mother, Marly Viana, who works as a homemaker.
Polyana’s mother
She has a younger brother, Joao Anderson Viana Mota, who works at Alfa Sinalizacao, and a sister, Ana Paula Viana, who works at Maquiadora as a make-up artist.
Polyana’s brother
Polyana’s sister
Husband & Children
She is unmarried. She is a single mother and has a son, Deivid Viana Mendes, who was born in 2006.
Polyana and her son
Relationship/Affair
Polyana dated Colby Covington, a UFC fighter, in March 2021. The couple never shared many details but were together for some time before getting separated due to personal reasons.
Polyana with Colby Covington
Religion/Religious Views
Polayana is a Christian.
Career
Mixed Martial Arts
DEC – Demolidor Extreme Combat 3
Viana made her debut as a professional martial artist in the Demolidor Extreme Combat 3 (DEC) on 14 December 2013 against Silvana Pinto. She won the fight in the first round by TKO, when the doctor had to step in to declare Pinto was unable to continue.
Piaui Fight MMA – Gladiators 2
Viana had her first match against Mirelle Oliveira do Nascimento in Piaui Fight MMA – Gladiators 2 on 8 February 2015. She won the match in the second round by an armbar submission hold.
AFN MMA – Araguatins Fight Night MMA
On 12 April 2014, Viana fought against Thais Santana in the Araguatins Fight Night MMA, in Brazil. She won the fight by a TKO.
TUF 1 – Talento Uruara Fight
On 7 June 2014, Viana faced Debora Silva at the Talento Uruara Fight. She won the match by a technical knockout in round 1. This victory set her record for 4-0 wins-losses in her professional MMA career.
RF 12 – Real Fight 12
Viana faced Aline Sattelmayer at the Real Fight 12 on 13 December 2014 in São José dos Campos. She got the first loss of her professional career by losing through a unanimous decision against Silva.
Polyana Viana vs Aline Sattelmayer at Real Fight 12
Maraba Combat- 1.0
Viana faced Giselle Campos on 18 July 2015 in the Flyweight category of the Maraba Combat- 1.0. She won the fight by an armbar submission hold in the first round.
Jungle Fight
Viana had her first match in the Jungle Fight 81 against Karol Pereira Silva Cerqueira on 12 September 2015. She made her way back to the Strawweight category and won the match in the first round by a submission hold.
Polyana’s poster in Jungle Fight
Later on, she fought against Amanda Ribas in Jungle Fight 83 on 28 November 2015. She won the match by TKO in the first round and got the vacant title belt for the Jungle Fight Strawweight Championship.
Polyana Viana vs. Amanda Ribas
She made her first title defence against Débora Dias Nascimento in the Jungle Fight 87 on 21 May 2016. She won the match by a submission hold on Dias in the first round.
Watch Out Combat Show
On 7 October 2017, Viana fought against Pamela Rosa in Watch Out Combat Show 47, at Rio de Janeiro. She won the match by a submission hold in the first round against Rosa.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
Viana made her debut in the UFC on 3 February 2018, against Maia Stevenson, and won in the first round with a rear-naked choke. Later, in May 2018, it was shared that Viana would face JJ Aldrich at UFC 227 in August. However, Viana lost the match because Aldrich had the upper hand in boxing throughout their fight.
Polyana Viana and Maia Stevenson face off
In her next match, Viana fought Hannah Cifers at UFC 235 and lost by a close split decision. Later, she faced Veronica Macedo at UFC Fight Night. Initially, Macedo was to fight Rachael Ostovich, but Viana replaced Ostovich for unknown reasons. During their match, Macedo surprisingly defeated Viana using an armbar, a move Viana had used to win six times before. This was the first time, Viana had ever been submitted in her career, and gave Macedo her first UFC victory.
Polyana Viana vs. Hannah Cifers
Viana was set to fight Emily Whitmire at UFC 248 on 8 March 2020. However, Whitmire was over the weight limit by 1.5 pounds during the weigh-ins, which led to a fine of 20% of her purse. The fight was set to go on at catchweight but was cancelled after Whitmire was hospitalized on the day of the event. Both the fighters were rescheduled for a match on 29 August 2020, at UFC Fight Night 175. Viana won the fight in the first round using an armbar submission.
Polyana Viana vs. Emily Whitmire
Later, on 13 February 2021, Viana faced Mallory Martin at UFC 258. Viana won the match in the first round using an armbar. Her outstanding performance earned her the “Performance of the Night” award.
Polyana defeats Mallory Martin by an armbar
Viana fought against Tabatha Ricci at UFC Fight Night 206 on 21 May 2022 but lost by unanimous decision.
Polyana Viana vs. Tabatha Ricci
Later that year, on 5 November at UFC Fight Night 214, she faced Jinh Yu Frey, and won the fight with a first-round knockout, earning her the “Performance of the Night” award.
Viana had to face Emily Ducote next, on 29 April 2023, at UFC on ESPN 45. However, this fight was moved to UFC Fight Night 223 on 20 May 2023. Unfortunately, Viana had to pull out of the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by the former LFA Women’s Strawweight Champion, Lupita Godinez, with the fight set at a catchweight of 120 pounds. Later, on 12 August 2023, Viana fought against Iasmin Lucindo at UFC on ESPN 51, where she was defeated in the second round by an arm-triangle choke in the second round.
Polyana Viana vs. Iasmin Lucindo
Awards/Achievements/Titles
Jungle Fight
- Strawweight Championship Belt
Polyana with her title from Jungle Night
- One successful Title Defence
Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Mallory Martin and Jinh Yu Frey
- Tied (Tatiana Suarez, Mackenzie Dern & Zhang Weili) for fourth most finishes in UFC Women’s Strawweight division history (4)
- Tied (Rose Namajunas, Cynthia Calvillo & Tatiana Suarez) for second-most submissions in UFC Women’s Strawweight division history (3)
- Tied (Cynthia Calvillo) for second-most submission attempts in UFC Women’s Strawweight division history (9)
Controversy
Brutal assault on the thief
The incident involving UFC fighter Polyana Viana, which took place in January 2019, made a major debate online. While waiting for an Uber outside her home, she was assaulted by a robber who used a fake gun to threaten her to hand over her purse and phone. In self-defence, she attacked the robber in a brutal way and later called the cops to hand over the robber. The man was so badly injured, that he had to be taken to the hospital, where it took a lot of time for him to recover. While speaking to MMAjunkie, Viana said
He asked me the time, I said it, and I saw he wasn’t going to leave. So, I already moved to put my cell phone in my waist. And then he said, Don’t try to react because I am armed. Then he kept his hand over his gun and realised it was too soft.” 1
Polyana beats up a robber
Car Collection
- White BMW
Polyana’s car
Bike Collection
- Honda Bros 160
Polyana’s bike
Tattoos
In 2021, she got a tattoo of the character “Pain” from Naruto on her chest.
Polyana’s chest tattoo
She has a tattoo of a Lion’s face with a pattern on her back.
Polyana’s back tattoo
She has a tattoo on her shoulder in her native language.
Polyana’s shoulder tattoo
She has tattoos on both her calves. On the left leg, she has a face tattoo, and on the right leg, she has the words “Muay Thai” inked.
Polyana’s leg tattoos
She has multiple small tattoos on her arms.
Viana’s small tattoos
Viana’s tattoo behind her arm
She has the face of a wolf inked on her right forearm.
Polyana’s wolf face tattoo
Favourites
- Anime: Naruto
- Food: Italian food
- Colour: Blue
- Video Game: Free Fire
Facts/Trivia
- Polyana is known as “The Iron Lady (Dama de Ferro)” in the octagon. She got this name due to her striking abilities.
- Before one of her fights, she took extreme measures to cut her weight for the weigh-ins which caused her to suffer a lot but finally, she was able to fit in the weight requirements and take part in the fight.
- Viana has various endorsements and sponsorships from big brands and companies such as Blaze.
Viana endorsing Blaze
- Polyana has a big collection of action figures and cosplays which she likes to keep in every place of her house.
Polyana shows her cosplay collection
- Polyana enjoys live streaming different types of video games online, such as Free Fire, GTA, and a few horror games. 2
Polyana at a live stream
- Polyana occasionally spends her time in the water and at beaches.
Viana enjoying the water
- She likes to visit comic cons and dress up as her favourite characters to make videos of cosplay.
Viana in a cosplay
- Polyana used to work for OnlyFans but had to leave it due to personal reasons.
