Natalia Silva has the flyweight title, and she has no plans to park it in a drawer until Valentina Shevchenko is ready. In an interview with MMA Fighting after her UFC 332 win over Wang Cong, the new 125-pound champion said she wants to fight again soon and will defend against whoever the rankings put in front of her.
“I want to fight soon,” Silva said. “I don’t want to sit around. I like fighting.”
She gave a rough timeline too. Silva said she expects to want a fight by the first half of next year. She floated Alexa Grasso and Erin Blanchfield as potential challengers for the first quarter of 2027, and she added that “the division is full of tough, talented girls, and I’m here to fight and defend the title.”
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The Shevchenko Exchange
The belt was vacant because Shevchenko suffered an injury. She had stayed quiet since the UFC announced she was no longer champion. Then Silva beat Wang by unanimous decision in the UFC 332 main event in Utah, and Shevchenko finally spoke up on X. She congratulated Silva, called her a “deserving martial artist,” and then told her to “keep it warm, I’m coming soon for my belt!”
Silva thanked her and then went after the wording.
“The first thing she already got wrong in that post was talking about how the belt is hers,” Silva said. “The belt isn’t hers anymore, the belt is mine. I’m the champion.”
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She also took a shot at Shevchenko’s schedule. “She wasn’t even keeping it warm herself,” Silva said. “She would take a year between fights.”
She has a point there. Shevchenko’s last defense came in November 2025, when she beat Zhang Weili by decision and stopped Zhang from becoming a two-division champion. Silva had already beaten former champions Jessica Andrade and Alexa Grasso by then. When it became clear Shevchenko wouldn’t be defending again soon, Silva took a fight against Rose Namajunas two months later. The Shevchenko defense never happened.
Silva is 9-0 after the Wang win, according to MMA Fighting, and she hasn’t lost in nine years. She said a rematch of sorts with the former champ is still possible, but only if the line allows it. “If she wants to fight when she comes back, and there isn’t another fight that needs to happen, we can fight,” Silva said, adding that the rankings and the queue have to be respected.
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She also wants a title fight at home. Silva said she has never fought in Brazil under the UFC banner and would love to defend there if the promotion runs an event in the country.
Sal’s Take
I like this from Silva, and the numbers back her up. She went from Andrade to Grasso to Namajunas to Wang while the champion was on a once-a-year schedule, and she’s saying out loud that she doesn’t get hurt and wants to stay busy. That’s the kind of champion a division needs. Shevchenko is still a big name. But a fighter coming back from an injury layoff, walking straight into a title shot against a 9-0 champ who keeps working? If the books hang a short price on that version of Shevchenko, I’ll be over here holding my wallet. Grasso or Blanchfield in early 2027 is the fight to book.
