UFC 332 turns a page in the history of the women’s flyweight division, as a new champion will be crowned between Natália Silva and Wang Cong.
The promotion’s annual visit to Salt Lake City this year has been met with immediate backlash and criticism, after a long-time second champ Valentina Shevchenko put her title on the line, opening the door for two contenders to shine. Silva has always been expected to be Shevchenko’s next challenger, sitting at No. 1 in the UFC’s official flyweight rankings and riding an impressive eight-fight winning streak for the promotion. Wang, however, was more surprised; the No.
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It’s a new matchup with a fresh face, but a sunken understanding. With two rounds to work on and plenty of doubters to silence, Silva and Wang can shine no less.
In the co-main event, Payton Talbott returns to face two-time former men’s flying champion Deiveson Figueiredo in a fight built to be a real game changer.
So we have to be honest about UFC 332. All the cards are of the same value now, so the pay-per-view model is clear; why is he complaining about this card, what is the result of the number being mute? At the same time, it is still a far cry from any show.
👑 UFC 332 crown line grade: D+. 👑
There is a double bond at the top of the incrowned mountain. (Hassan Ahmad, Yahoo Sports)
Natalia Silva hopes to win her ninth UFC gold.
(Chris Unger via Getty Images)
125 pounds: Natalia Silva (-210) vs.
Most of our crowned staff are making year-to-end predictions, which after a chaotic, unpredictable year are pretty damn rough. Suddenly, however, Silva is set to make the right choice the easiest, with Shevchenko seemingly confirmed to miss the rest of the year.
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Right off the bat, I’ll remind Incrowned readers, if I forgot, that I was in “Nattie Ice” company with her UFC debut against Aenean Jasudavicius. The Futura Mandi earned the title right then and there, and it was only a matter of time.
Silva, 29, has been fighting in his UFC career since he fought his way to the Jungle Fight championship in Brazil. That injection snuck into an element of his game that he didn’t need at all during his eight-fight streak, which makes his performance all the more impressive — and even scarier overall.
Wang Dance makes a pretty perfect partner at this point, although there are some arguably better options ahead of her. Stylistically, Wang brings even more skill to the Octagon than Woods, due to the construction of his kicks. And in her last outing against Tracy Cortez, Wang took things to a new level; Injected as a clear weakness, he showed great improvement and beat Cortez from pillar to post.
Ironically, this fight could be so sure on the feet that the first champion might have to stoop down a bit to try it. These two women are very evenly matched, with Silva likely keeping the light speed on the edge, while Wang will look to counter her work with heavy pressure from Silva.
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As for the level of competition, it’s not too close here, as Silva has beaten significantly better opposition.
I think this could be a tight issue, but Silva is too good at staying one step ahead of his opponents.
Collect: Forest
135 pounds: Payton Talbott (-750) Deiveson Figueiredo vs.
Figueiredo’s bantamweight career isn’t exactly set. But even at the age of 38, I don’t want to be “washed” with the “God of Guerra” label, because he fights for nothing but the best division.
But Talbot is on the cusp of emerging as one.
The fight with Henry Cejudo feels so long, he forgot it was his. It was December, after all. Nevertheless, Talbot looked up against a sensible former linebacker, and someone who is now in a very similar position to Figueiredo: an old man off the field who is still competitive, but far from his best days.
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Figueiredo only has an edge on Talbott at this stage on the mat. But he is younger and impatient to fight. It is only a matter of time before Figueiredo is rocked, either in agony or with fists.
You hate to say it, but that’s exactly where we are.
Collect: Talbott
155 pounds: Esteban Ribovics (-250) vs.
Is Esteban Ribovic getting into retirement? Not to himself, but to his adversaries.
He took Argentinian Edson Barboza to the punch in his last outing, and King Green is certainly going to fight again after this one. Optically, it is funny to see this chain of opposition.
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Green, 40, has completely resurfaced, seemingly out of nowhere, since he retired at the end of a Knockout of the Year contender against Mauricio Ruffy last year. He rattled off four wins, including three straight finishes over the likes of Jeremy Stephens, Terrance McKinney and Daniel Zellhuber. In a way, it might seem better than ever, with a new kind of aggression that matches the historically strong edge of boxing.
Ribovics makes for a fun dance partner, always willing to drop and meet in the middle. However, it could be his downfall against someone like Green, who remains sharp and surprisingly durable.
I hesitated too much in this scene, and Ribovics was lucky to be hit. Luscus also beat Barboza in the last fight, so that we would not be taken away.
Collect: Green
Robert Soldic makes his long-awaited UFC debut on Saturday.
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
170 pounds: Roberto Soldić (-285) Khaos Williams vs.
Here comes Robert Soldić, folks.
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This is long overdue. That two-division KSW champion restricted legendary middleweight Mamed Khalidov in December 2021 before entering free agency. Hopes were high that he was tied to the UFC, but instead he chased the money for one championship – and ended up finding as many broken promises as any MMA fighter on that roster, fighting only three times from 2022 to 2025.
Those were the precious first years of money that were completely wasted. Thankfully, he’s still just 31, and now he’s entering the UFC, moving up from the middleweight to the 170-pound ranks.
Khaos Williams plays the part of the entertainer here, and often lives up to his name, for better or worse. Williams has always been a veteran of the game, but he’s never had the power of someone like Soldi outside of the UFC.
Williams will have to create chaos in order to have the best shot against the destroyer that is Soldi. The debutant went to the decision in only four of the 26 fights in total, and finished with 18 of the knockouts. That is to say, Soldi’s slug comes, and it carries a speed not often seen for the weight of the species.
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This fight is for everyone, not for both of them. And this is Soldo’s moment after years in purgatory, which UNO calls the MMA roster.
Collect: Soldic
185 pounds: Ateba Gautier (-225) Kopylov vs.
I’m still not sold on Ateba Gautier as a future contender. It’s been slow-burning against the work of the opposition, and Roman Kopylov is a solid step forward in that regard.
But Kopylov fell in recent years after a good stretch. He was one of those guys who only loses the ones he thinks. You know, Antonio Hernandez, Paul Costas and Gregory Rodrigues of the middle weight division.
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Kopylov has superior experience in every field; He just didn’t pull the trigger in his past three fights like he used to. Against someone like Gautier, who cost him, leading to a goal or losing one square.
Collect: Gautier
Previous Notes
The UFC 332 prelims are a pretty solid spectacle, giving recent Contender Series stars like Damian Pinas and Anthony Wint their moments to shine. Elsewhere, we have bizarre matchups like Johnny Walker vs Mick Parkin and Ismail Naurdiev vs Marvin Vettori.
Oh yeah, the ghost of former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos could also return for what could be his last fight, depending on how it goes.
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Overall, UFC 332 is really just a cracker of a card.
A quick read:
Alden Coria (+135) def. Imanol Rodríguez (-165)
Damianus Pinas (-550) def. Andreas Pulyaev (+400)
M. McGhee (-500) def. Antonio Romero (-360)
Anthony Wint (-600) def. Lucas Armand (+425)
Johnny Walker (-135) def. Mick Parkin (+110)
Alexander Hernandez def. Rafael dos Anjos (+200)
Ismail Naurdiev (-145) def. Marvin Vettori (+120)
James Smith (-1100) vs.
Eric Nolan def. McGee Court (+200)