Natalia Silva is the UFC women’s flyweight champion. The Brazilian took a unanimous decision over Wang Cong in the UFC 332 main event Saturday night at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City and claimed the title Valentina Shevchenko left vacant. Silva moves to 21-5-1.
For most of the fight it looked like a coronation. MMA Fighting described Silva as cruising toward the win before Wang finally found another gear, especially in the fifth round. By then the math was against her. Wang, 34, was in her first UFC title fight, and she drops to 10-2.
She offered an explanation on Instagram the next day. Wang said she took a poke to the right eye in the first round, and that it affected her vision and slowed her start. “The line of sight is blocked and then I couldn’t see it when I was poked in the right eye in the first [round],” she wrote. Her sign-off was short: “Come on, try again.”
The eye poke stays her story, and nobody can see inside her eye from press row. What the fight did show is that the version of Wang who turned up in Round 5 would have been a real problem for Silva across all 25 minutes. Silva banked the early rounds while Wang was still getting going, and that’s how you win a title. The belt goes back to Brazil.
Talbott needs two minutes
The co-main was over almost before the crowd settled in. Payton Talbott (12-1) stopped former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo (25-8-1) at 2:09 of Round 1 in their bantamweight bout, his third straight win, and he went straight for the biggest name he could reach.
That name is Sean O’Malley. The two were potentially going to meet on the UFC White House card earlier this year, and Talbott wants to revive it. At the post-fight press conference he admitted his ranking doesn’t give him much leverage and said the timing hinges on Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili III at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 24.
“If I’m being transparent, if Merab wins then it’s a no-brainer,” Talbott said. “He’s already fought Merab plenty of times and lost.”
He also said he likes fighting men his own size, and he had a line ready about O’Malley’s reputation: “He’s called the best striker in our division, and I’d like to put that to the test.” He told reporters he thinks he has more power, more muscle on his frame and the same speed. A two-minute finish of Figueiredo makes it hard to dismiss him.
The rest of the main card
Esteban Ribovics def. King Green. The Utah crowd gave Green one of the loudest receptions of the night, and Ribovics answered by dropping him several times in succession. Referee Herb Dean waved it off at 4:08 of Round 1 after the last knockdown. Green said on Instagram that he was “a little mad” at Dean. “Let me go out on my shield,” he said. “I was still fine. I wanted to keep fighting.” I can’t stand early stoppages, and I’m still siding with Herb on this one. After repeated knockdowns, a fighter insisting he was fine can’t overrule what the referee sees. Green came in on a four-fight win streak, and Dana White had floated him as a future BMF title candidate, so this one hurts. Ribovics paid for the win, though. He came in 0.5 pounds over, the bout moved to catchweight, and he gave up 20 percent of his purse and his bonus eligibility. He blamed the hotel workout room for the miss. “They turned on the air conditioning while we were just doing it and basically I stopped sweating,” he said through a translator. He laughed off the suggestion that Green and boxer Arnold Barboza Jr. arranged the AC. Those two had confronted Ribovics after the weigh-ins, and he and Green were still jawing as the fight was waved off, though they made up moments later. That’s back-to-back wins for Ribovics for the first time since 2024, with Green and Edson Barboza both on the list.
Roberto Soldić def. Khaos Williams. The welterweight bout went the full distance and Soldić (22-4) took it on the scorecards. Williams falls to 16-6.
Roman Kopylov def. Ateba Gautier. Kopylov (16-5) stopped the middleweight prospect at 3:12 of Round 1. It’s the second loss of Gautier’s career, and he’s now 11-2.
Prelim results
- Imanol Rodriguez def. Alden Coria by stoppage at 3:11 of Round 1. Rodriguez improves to 8-1 at flyweight.
- Damian Pinas def. Andrey Pulyaev by stoppage at 1:15 of Round 1. Pinas is 11-1.
- Marcus McGhee def. Anthony Romero by stoppage at 4:58 of Round 1, two seconds from the horn.
- Anthony Wint def. Lucas Armand by knockout in 23 seconds. Wint stays unbeaten at 9-0 and called out Sean Sharaf, the heavyweight who upset Gable Steveson at UFC 331. Wint wants it on the UFC 334 card in New York on Nov. 14 and told reporters the callout carries no bad blood. Sharaf once gave him a ride to his hotel. “I think I’m better than him and I think a lot of people would agree with me,” Wint said.
- Johnny Walker def. Mick Parkin by stoppage at 3:35 of Round 1. Walker moves to 23-10 at heavyweight, and Parkin suffers his second loss.
- Jacobe Smith def. Bruce Whitehead by stoppage at 1:32 of Round 1. Smith is now 13-0 with four stoppages in four UFC fights. Whitehead took the fight on late notice after Kevin Holland withdrew with an injury. Smith told the UFC it was slick in there, so he took the fight to the ground. Holland has now pulled out of their fight twice and is booked against Uros Medic at UFC 334, and Smith is furious about it. “I want to murder Kevin Holland,” he said.
- Alexander Hernandez def. Rafael Dos Anjos by stoppage at 3:12 of Round 2. Dos Anjos, the longtime lightweight, falls to 32-18.
- Ismail Naurdiev def. Marvin Vettori on the scorecards. Naurdiev goes to 26-8 at middleweight.
- Eric Nolan def. Court McGee by stoppage at 3:26 of Round 3, the latest finish of the night.
The UFC also used the broadcast to announce the top of UFC 335 on Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena. Charles Oliveira defends the BMF title against Diego Lopes, Alex Pereira meets Sergei Pavlovich over five rounds at heavyweight, and Joe Pyfer faces Bo Nickal. MMA Fighting reported that BetOnline opened Pavlovich as a -130 favorite over Pereira.
The sources haven’t named Silva’s first challenger yet. Talbott’s next step depends on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. If Dvalishvili beats Yan, he has already called the O’Malley fight a no-brainer. If Yan wins, O’Malley, who holds a win over Yan, likely has a path back to a title shot, and Talbott may have to keep calling him out.
Full Results
- Natalia Silva def. Wang Cong (unanimous decision, Round 5, full distance) [women’s flyweight title]
- Payton Talbott def. Deiveson Figueiredo (stoppage, Round 1, 2:09)
- Esteban Ribovics def. King Green (knockout, Round 1, 4:08)
- Roberto Soldić def. Khaos Williams (decision, Round 3, full distance)
- Roman Kopylov def. Ateba Gautier (stoppage, Round 1, 3:12)
- Imanol Rodriguez def. Alden Coria (stoppage, Round 1, 3:11)
- Damian Pinas def. Andrey Pulyaev (stoppage, Round 1, 1:15)
- Marcus McGhee def. Anthony Romero (stoppage, Round 1, 4:58)
- Anthony Wint def. Lucas Armand (knockout, Round 1, 0:23)
- Johnny Walker def. Mick Parkin (stoppage, Round 1, 3:35)
- Jacobe Smith def. Bruce Whitehead (stoppage, Round 1, 1:32)
- Alexander Hernandez def. Rafael Dos Anjos (stoppage, Round 2, 3:12)
- Ismail Naurdiev def. Marvin Vettori (decision, Round 3, full distance)
- Eric Nolan def. Court McGee (stoppage, Round 3, 3:26)
