Natalia Silva Crowned New UFC Women's Flyweight Champion
Brazil's Natalia Silva won a unanimous decision over China's Wang Cong at UFC 332 to claim the vacant women's flyweight title, extending her win streak to 15 fights.
Brazilian fighter Natalia Silva became the new UFC women's flyweight champion on Sunday in Salt Lake City, defeating China's Wang Cong by unanimous decision across five rounds at UFC 332.
Silva had originally been scheduled to fight Kyrgyzstan's Valentina Shevchenko for the title, but that bout was called off after Shevchenko was forced to give up the belt last month due to injury, leaving it vacant.
Entering the contest as the favourite, the 29-year-old controlled the fight throughout and stretched her unbeaten run to 15 consecutive victories. All three judges scored the bout in her favour, with tallies of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46.
Speaking after the win, Silva described the title as an opportunity given to her by God and praised her opponent as a tough competitor who justified her status as a title challenger. She called the victory the start of a new chapter in her career, declaring herself the new champion.
Shevchenko later congratulated Silva on social media, calling her a deserving champion while warning that she would soon return to reclaim the belt.
The bout marked the first women's main event in the UFC since Mackenzie Dern's win over Amanda Ribas in January 2025, and the first time since June 2023 — when Amanda Nunes beat Irene Aldana — that two women headlined one of the promotion's flagship numbered events.
Earlier on the card, British heavyweight Mick Parkin suffered a quick defeat in his UFC heavyweight debut, knocked out by a knee strike from Brazil's Johnny Walker in under four minutes.
