A new flyweight queen will be crowned when Natalia Silva and Wang Cong collide for the vacant title in the main event of UFC 332 in Salt Lake City on Saturday night (Sunday morning SA time), writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.
ALSO READ: Top Five UFC Fights To Look Forward To In October.
The co-headliner at the Delta Center will see former 125-pound champion Deiveson Figueiredo face rising star Payton Talbott in a bantamweight banger, while lightweight veteran King Green and Esteban Ribovics will bring the fireworks in the featured bout.
Plus, former two-division KSW champion Roberto Soldic will make his long-awaited UFC debut against Khaos Williams at welterweight, and Ateba Gautier and Roman Kopylov meet at middleweight.
MAIN CARD:
Sunday, October 4, 2:00 AM SAST
Natalia Silva (1.49) vs Wang Cong (2.65) (Flyweight Championship)
When you think of the UFC women’s flyweight division, the first fighter that comes to mind is Valentina Shevchenko.
“Bullet” is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer – a two-time champion who’s cemented her legacy as the greatest women’s 125-pounder of all time.
After a dominant decision win over Zhang Weili in their superfight last November to solidify her status as the pound-for-pound queen, Shevchenko was expected to defend her title against Silva next.
However, the shocking news then broke that the Kyrgyzstan icon was forced to relinquish the crown due to serious injuries. While there has been no talk of her retiring, she is 38 and with her expected to be out for up to a year, who knows if we’ll see Shevchenko again.
A surging Silva has long looked like a future champion.
The No. 1-ranked Brazilian is a perfect 8-0 inside the Octagon and on a 14-fight win streak dating back to 2017. What’s more, her last three victories are all over former titleholders.
Jessica Andrade was the first former champion to succumb to Silva, then it was Alexa Grasso – the woman who had ended Shevchenko’s first reign – followed by Rose Namajunas last time out to move her record to 20-5-1.
Wang made a splash in her UFC debut in 2024 with a 62-second knockout of Victoria Leonardo, but suffered the first loss of her career in her second Octagon outing when she was submitted by Gabriella Fernandes.
“The Joker” has strung together four consecutive wins since then, and most recently outworked Tracy Cortez in July. Ranked eighth, the Chinese ace heads into the title tilt with a record of 10-1.
As two world-class strikers, the scrap for the strap should largely play out on the feet and looks set to go the full 25 minutes, as Silva’s last five wins have all come by decision, while Wang won on the scorecards in her last four bouts.
As the younger fighter by five years, 29-year-old Silva should have a speed advantage, and has a wider striking arsenal. She’s also proven herself to be truly elite with her strength of schetdule, whereas Wang hasn’t beaten any top-level competition.
Thus, Silva should seize the throne.
Prediction: Silva by decision.
Best Bet: Silva by decision at 1.84.
Deiveson Figueiredo (5.35) vs Payton Talbott (1.16) (Bantamweight)
The co-headliner pits a decorated former champion against an ascending talent.
Former flyweight champion Figueiredo (25-7-1) started his mission to conquer a second division by rattling off three straight wins in his new home at bantamweight.
However, he’s dropped four of his next five – to current 135-pound king Petr Yan, title challengers Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov and most recently Song Yadong.
Still ranked ninth, “Deus da Guerra” looks to get back on track and solidify his place in the bantamweight elite.
Talbott (11-1) has all the makings of a future superstar.
A born finisher, all but two of his wins have come by stoppage, with one of his seven knockout victims being South Africa’s Cameron Saaiman, whom he finished in March 2024.
He put an absolute beating on former two-division champion Henry Cejudo in December, vanquishing the Hall of Famer from the UFC, and plans to pummel another ex-title holder and break into the top 10.
Patience, precision and distance management will be key for Talbott, and fortunately for him, he’s a tall, rangy sharpshooter on the feet. At 5’10”, he’ll have a five-inch height and two-and-a-half-inch reach advantage.
Younger by 10 years, Talbott should score a dominant win.
Prediction: Talbott by knockout.
Best Bet: Talbott by KO/TKO/DQ at 2.12.
Alternative Bet: Talbott by decision at 2.42.
King Green (2.90) vs Esteban Ribovics (1.42) (Lightweight)
Don’t blink when these two lightweight killers collide in the featured bout.
Green (36-17-1) is one of your favourite fighters’ favourite fighters. He’s that guy – a veteran scrapper who always puts on a show.
Even at the age of 40, he’s still a savage, and pulled off a contender for Comeback of the Year after he took everything the young Terrance McKinney could handle and turned the tables to claim a thrilling TKO win in July.
That stunning upset was his 23rd career finish, and stretched his current win streak to four.
Ribovics (16-3) is an ultra-aggressive Argentinian with 13 finishes to his name.
He’s fresh off retiring Edson Barboza by knockout in August to bounce back from a submission loss to Mateusz Gamrot, and would like nothing more than to end Green’s career as well.
Younger, faster and flashier, “El Gringo” is a big favourite, but after Green’s epic comeback at UFC 329, I’m backing him to do it again with a big potential pay-out.
Prediction: Green by knockout.
Best Bet: Green by KO/TKO/DQ at 9.00.
Alternative Bet: Green at 2.90.
Roberto Soldic (1.35) vs Khaos Williams (3.25) (Welterweight)
All eyes will be on Soldic (21-4) as he finally steps inside the Octagon.
“Robocop” is a kill-or-be-killed fighter who was once the best fighter in the world outside of the UFC. A Croatian savage with 18 KOs on his record, he won both the welterweight and middleweight titles in Polish promotion KSW, where he twice faced off with Dricus du Plessis in 2018.
The fighting pride of South Africa knocked him out in their first meeting, but dropped the title back to him in the rematch. Soldic, who remains the only man to knock out Du Plessis, turned down an offer from the UFC and went to ONE Championship instead, a mistake in hindsight as he went 1-1-1 in the promotion and wasted his prime.
Now, a year after stopping Tomasz Adamek in Fame MMA, he’ll make his first walk to the Octagon at 31 looking to make up for lost time.
In Williams (16-5), he’s not immediately matched up with a ranked UFC welterweight. It’s smart on the UFC’s part, as they want to capitalise on Soldic’s name, but Williams isn’t a walkover either.
“The Oxfighter” packs a serious punch and has nine wins by knockout, including over Nikolay Veretennikov last time out.
That said, all signs point to Soldic making a vicious first impression.
Prediction: Soldic by knockout.
Best Bet: Soldic by KO/TKO/DQ at 1.68.
Ateba Gautier (1.47) vs Roman Kopylov (2.70) (Middleweight)
Like the co-headliner and featured bout, the main card opener pits a young lion against an older lion.
It’s very much set up for Gautier (11-1) to get his breakout moment. A big, athletic and dangerous middleweight, he hails from Cameroon and is a perfect 5-0 in the UFC, with four of those wins coming by knockout.
“The Storm” is downright scary, a 24-year-old freak athlete who stands 6’4″ (four inches taller than his opponent), moves like a welterweight and hits like a truck.
His veteran test comes in the form of Kopylov (15-5), a well-rounded competitor with high-level experience, having fought the likes of Paulo Costa and Gregory Rodrigues.
The 35-year-old Russian isn’t just crafty but a power puncher as well, with a dozen knockouts to his credit. However, Gautier’s explosiveness should see him put himself on the map in a big way.
Prediction: Gautier by knockout.
Best Bet: Gautier by KO/TKO/DQ at 2.02.
Note: Odds subject to change.
Quintin van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 20 years of experience.
