UFC 324 Fight Will Decide Next Challenger for UFC Champion Valentina Shevchenko

It looks like the next title defense for UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko will officially be decided this weekend at UFC 324.

A new era for the UFC officially starts this Saturday, as the promotion is set to return from a lengthy hiatus with a UFC 324 card in Las Vegas that serves as the first of seven years’ worth of events that will be broadcast on Paramount.

UFC 324 unfortunately only features one title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett following Kayla Harrison’s withdrawal from the co-main event, but the card does include several former UFC titleholders such as two-time Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas.

Rose Namajunas Could Earn Crack At Second UFC Title

Scheduled to take on #2-ranked women’s flyweight contender Natalia Silva as part of the UFC 324 main card, Namajunas revealed during the event’s media day that she’s been told a win over Silva would guarantee her the division’s next title shot against Shevchenko.

Valentina Shevchenko (red gloves) walks out before the womens flyweight championship bout against Zhang Weili. — Valentina Shevchenko (red gloves) walks out before the womens flyweight championship bout against Zhang Weili (not pictured) during UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

“I’m still not too worried about definitely looking past this or anything, because we’ve gotta stay one step at a time," Namajunas said. "But it’s definitely more motivating – and I don’t need any more motivation, I just wanna win. And I’m also very excited to face someone like Natalia.”

After falling to Carla Esparza in a fight to crown the inaugural UFC strawweight champion and close out Season 20 ofThe Ultimate Fighter, Namajunas eventually fought her way back to another title shot and took the promotion’s 115 lbs. title from Joanna Jedrzejczyk via first-round knockout at UFC 217.

Rose Namajunas (red gloves) fights Miranda Maverick (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at State Farm Arena. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

“Thug” was unseated by Jessica Andrade in 2019 but reclaimed her belt at UFC 261 when she knocked out Weili Zhang. Following a disappointing loss to Esparza in their rematch at UFC 274, Namajunas moved up to the flyweight division in 2023 and has gone 3-2 overall, most recently taking a unanimous decision over Miranda Maverick last June.

Natalia Silva Carries Undefeated Octagon Record Into UFC 324

Grabbing the microphone after Namajunas during UFC 324 media day, Silva also said that the UFC has promised that the winner of her fight with with two-time champion will be next in line for a title shot.

Alexa Grasso (red gloves) fights Natalia Silva (blue gloves) during UFC 315 at Bell Centre. | Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

“I wanted to get a shot at the title before, but the UFC said that Valentina wasn’t gonna be able to fight so soon," Silva explained. "So, they offered Rose’s name, and we said ‘Yeah’, we accepted it…The UFC has said, this is an elimination fight, and the next one will be for the title.”

Currently on a 13-fight win streak that includes seven-straight wins since joining the UFC in 2022, Silva defeated former strawweight titleholder Andrade in a “Fight of the Night”-winning scrap in 2024 before she took a unanimous decision over former flyweight queen Alexa Grasso in her most recent outing at UFC 315.

Valentina Shevchenko (red gloves) fights Zhang Weili (blue gloves) in the women's flyweight championship bout during UFC 322. — Valentina Shevchenko (red gloves) fights Zhang Weili (blue gloves) in the women's flyweight championship bout during UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Grasso famously submitted Shevchenko in the first fight of their eventual trilogy at UFC 285 in 2023. “Bullet” reclaimed her title at UFC 306 after the pair fought to a draw in their second meeting, and she’s now two title defenses into her second reign as champion after taking decisions over Manon Fiorot and Weili Zhang, who vacated the strawweight belt to challenge Shevchenko in a double-champ bid at UFC 322.

More MMA Knockout News

• UFC's Paramount+ partnership prominently featured during NFL playoffs before UFC 324

• UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik predicts massive UFC White House headliners

• MMA fighter returns from two-year layoff to flatten opponent with must-see KO

• UFC loses another huge fight as UFC 325 fighter reveals devastating injury

Stick with MMAKnockout for more FREE coverage of the UFC and MMA.

Follow MMAKnockout on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.