With less than a month to go until the UFC 332 event in Salt Lake City, Utah, the promotion has finally announced the headliner for October 3. Natália Silva gets her shot at UFC gold. The Brazilian fighter takes on Wang Cong for the flyweight championship.
The UFC announced the fight moments ago during the UFC Paris broadcast. Silva was supposed to fight champion Valentina Shevchenko for the title, but she had to withdraw because of an injury. Therefore, the winner of the fight between Silva and Wang will now be fighting for the actual title since Shevchenko is out for some time.
The Future Of The Flyweight Division
Natália Silva is 29 years old and five years younger than Wang Cong. The Brazilian fighter signed in 2020 as the Jungle Fight champion with the UFC. Unfortunately for Silva, she had to wait until 2022 for her debut due to a broken arm. Silva directly made an impact in her debut by completely dominating Jasmine Jasudavicius. Silva came into that fight as an underdog. After back-to-back finishes against Tereza Bledá and Victoria Leonardo, Silva got a step up in competition and took on Andrea Lee. Lee was also nowhere near the level of Silva and lost via unanimous decision. Silva then beat Viviane Araújo and got matched up with former champion Jessica Andrade.
Silva used her counterstriking to pick Andrade apart and won via decision. Last year, Silva only fought once when she took on former champion Alexa Grasso. Grasso, who is known as a very good striker, wasn’t able to close the distance with Silva and lost all three rounds. In her most recent fight earlier this year, Silva fought a third consecutive former champion, Rose Namajunas. After three rounds, Silva won a controversial unanimous decision over Namajunas, bringing her winning streak in the UFC to eight. She was supposed to fight champion Valentina Shevchenko, but because of an injury, she now takes on Wang Cong for the title.
Massive And Unexpected Opportunity
After a career in kickboxing where she beat Valentina Shevchenko, Wang Cong committed fully to Mixed Martial Arts in 2022. Wang won her first four fights, including a victory over former UFC fighter Wu Yanan. She signed a one-fight contract to feature on the Road to UFC card in 2024 against Paula Luna. Wang won via mounted guillotine choke in the first round and was subsequently signed by the UFC. Three months after the victory, she won her UFC debut via knockout in the first round against Victoria Leonardo.
Wang, who verbally kept challenging Valentina Shevchenko, looked on her way to the top but finished as a massive favorite in her second UFC fight against Gabriella Fernandes. Because of that loss, she had to build back up. Last year, she fought twice and bounced back with wins over Bruna Brasil and Ariana da Silva. It made her enter the top 15 of the flyweight division. Now she is riding a four-fight winning streak. Earlier this year, she beat both Eduarda Moura and Tracy Cortez by unanimous decision. Wang gets a massive opportunity now to fight Natália Silva for the title.
UFC 332 – Salt Lake City (October 3)
Main Card
- Natália Silva vs. Wang Cong
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Payton Talbott
- King Green vs. Esteban Ribovics
- Khaos Williams vs. Roberto Soldić
- Ateba Gautier vs. Roman Kopylov
Preliminary Card
- Imanol Rodríguez vs. Alden Coria
- Damian Pinas vs. Andrey Pulyaev
- Marcus McGhee vs. Benardo Sopaj
- Anthony Wint vs. TBA
Early Preliminary Card
- Johnny Walker vs. Mick Parkin
- Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Alexander Hernandez
- Marvin Vettori vs. Ismail Naurdiev
- Court McGee vs. Eric Nolan
Vacant Title Fight Headlines UFC 332 in Salt Lake City