Natalia Silva captured the vacant women’s flyweight championship by decision over Wang Cong on Saturday at UFC 332, leading an event that featured nine first-round knockouts.
Natalia Silva won the vacant UFC women’s flyweight championship Saturday night at UFC 332, defeating Wang Cong by decision after five rounds at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Former champion Valentina Shevchenko had vacated the belt because of an injury. In the main event, broadcast on CBS and Paramount+, Brazil’s Silva used kicks and speed to build an early lead before China’s Wang rallied late. Shevchenko reacted after the fight with a warning to Silva, telling her not to get too comfortable. The card had faced criticism before Saturday, with USA Today calling it devoid of star power and one of the least appealing in recent memory.
Despite the pre-fight criticism, UFC 332 delivered nine first-round knockouts across the 14-fight card. Four fighters earned $100,000 Performance of the Night bonuses: Johnny Walker, Damian Pinas, Imanol Rodriguez and Roman Kopylov. Walker won by knockout in his heavyweight debut. Kopylov, entering as an underdog, opened the CBS main card by stopping betting favorite Ateba Gautier with punches in the first round.
Pinas finished Andrey Pulyaev with a one-punch uppercut knockout in 75 seconds. Sources gave conflicting details about his background: a Zuffa LLC photo caption listed Pinas as being from Suriname, while USA Today described him as a 31-year-old middleweight from Aruba. Rodriguez, described by SB Nation as a protégé of Daniel Cormier, landed a first-round teep kick to the body to knock out Alden Coria.
In the bantamweight co-main event, Payton Talbott dominated former champion Deiveson Figueiredo, stopping him with punches for a technical knockout in about two minutes. Talbott called out Sean O’Malley afterward, saying O’Malley “can’t run forever” as Talbott pursued a third consecutive fight against a former UFC titleholder. Earlier on the card, Jacobe Smith improved to 13-0 by knocking out Bruce Whitehead following a low blow.
