Valentina Shevchenko Could Surpass Amanda Nunes in Reported UFC 332 Title Fight

Valentina Shevchenko’s next women’s flyweight title defense is reportedly set to take place at UFC 332.

Scheduled to go down at the Delta Center on October 3, UFC 332 marks the UFC's return to Salt Lake City, UT for the first time since UFC 307 in 2024, which saw Alex Pereira defend his light heavyweight belt with a four-round stoppage of Khalil Rountree Jr.

A number of intriguing matchups have already been reported for UFC 332, but now it also looks like the event finally has a championship fight.

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Natália Silva Reportedly Set for UFC 332

First reported by Prosports Kyrgyzstan, Shevchenko will have the chance to make UFC history when she meets top-ranked contender Natália Silva in a women’s flyweight title bout at UFC 332.

One of the most decorated female fighters in the history of the UFC, Shevchenko challenged Amanda Nunes for the promotion’s women’s bantamweight belt twice before joining the UFC’s newly-created women’s flyweight division in 2018.

Valentina Shevchenko (red gloves) celebrates after beating Joanna Jedrzejczyk (blue gloves) during UFC 231 at Scotiabank Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“Bullet” became the division’s inaugural champion at UFC 321 when she defeated Joanna Jędrzejczyk via unanimous decision, and she went on to defend her belt a staggering seven times before suffering a seismic upset at the hands of Alexa Grasso in 2023.

Alexa Grasso (red gloves) fights Valentina Shevchenko (blue gloves) during Riyadh Season Noche UFC 306 at The Sphere. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The two women fought to a draw in their immediate rematch before a trilogy fight at UFC 306, where Shevchenko defeated Grasso via unanimous decision to reclaim her belt.

Valentina Shevchenko (red gloves) reacts after defeating Zhang Weili (blue gloves) in the womens flyweight championship bout during UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The 38-year-old returned to defend her belt against Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 before spoiling Weili Zhang’s double-champ bid last November, and that unanimous decision win saw Schevchenko tie UFC Hall of Famer Nunes for the most victories in UFC women’s title bouts with 11.

Natália Silva Has Beaten Ex-UFC Champions in 3-Straight Fights

Shevchenko will have the chance to break that tie with Nunes when she returns at UFC 332, but standing across from her will be a dangerous challenger that’s yet to taste defeat since joining the UFC.

Listed as the #1 women’s flyweight contender in the Meta UFC rankings, former Jungle Fight titleholder Silva brought a six-fight win streak into her UFC debut in 2022 and upset Jasmine Jasudavicius via unanimous decision.

Natalia Silva (red gloves) reacts before the fight against Rose Namajunas (blue gloves) during UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That debut win was followed by back-to-back knockouts before she also took unanimous decisions over Andrea Lee and Viviane Araujo, which set Silva up for a significant step up in competition her next time out.

Beginning with a win over Jéssica Andrade that took home “Fight of the Night” honors, the 29-year-old has now bested three former UFC champions in a row after also taking decisions against Grasso and two-time UFC strawweight titleholder Rose Namajunas.

Natalia Silva (red gloves) fights Rose Namajunas (blue gloves) during UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It remains to be seen if the UFC may decide to also book a second title fight for UFC 332, but Shevchenko vs. Silva is a massive addition to a card that’s currently shaping up like this.

UFC 322 Fight Card

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Natália Silva – For the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

Payton Talbott vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

Marvin Vettori vs. Ismail Naurdiev

Mick Parkin vs. Johnny Walker

Roman Kopylov vs. Ateba Gautier

Alden Coria vs. Imanol Rodriguez

Damian Pinas vs. Andrey Pulyaev

Court McGee vs. Eric Nolan

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