Valentina Shevchenko injury thwarts rumored UFC 332 main event
UFC 332 takes place on October 3rd in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’re just over a month away from the card, and it’s starting to feel cursed. The fights below the top of the bill are fun and feature rising stars. The main event has been a huge question mark.
Even with no main event yet, the card has exciting prospects booked. Peyton Talbott takes a leap in competition and faces former Flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo. Destructive middleweight Ateba Gautier attempts to start his title run, facing the experienced Roman Kopylov.
MORE: UFC Paris: Dan Hooker vs Salahdine Parnasse’ main card predictions
Despite no official announcement from the UFC, reports swirled that the main event for the MMA leader’s return to Utah had been set. Valentina Shevchenko was set to face top contender Natalia Silva; now that’s no longer the case.
Valentina Shevchenko ruled out of rumored UFC 332 main event
Reported by Ag. Fight, Valentina Shevchenko won’t be making this trip out to Utah to defend her flyweight title. Theres no specifics on what type of injury actually took place. Regardless, it’s clearly something bad enough that Shevchenko cannot compete.
This is a brutal loss for the 332 card and for Shevchenko. Entering the event, the flyweight champ had an opportunity to make history. Had Shevchenko made the walk and gotten her hand raised, she would’ve eclipsed Amanda Nunes for the most women’s title fight wins ever.
MORE: Bantamweight breakdown, Song Yadong’s status after UFC Shanghai
With the record now staying tied at 11, there could be a chance that Nunes takes it back if she beats women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison. The most important question now is who in the world will headline this card.
There aren’t many options at this point. That being said, the UFC will have to get creative with their headlining fight.
Possible main event options for UFC 332
From an outside perspective, it seems like there are only two options for the main event. The first of those options would be an interim light heavyweight title fight between Magomed Ankalaev and Paulo Costa. Both fighters are primed for a huge fight at 205 pounds. With the UFC seemingly in desperation mode now, this would make perfect sense.
Ankalaev is coming off a win over Bogdan Guskov, where he took zero damage and coasted till finding a fifth-round finish. Jiří Procházka is also an option for Costa’s opponent, but he’s rumored to be fighting Navajo Stirling later this year.
The next option is to just get Sean Strickland to defend his title against any middleweight that’s available. Of course, the opponent can’t be some unranked fighter, but someone in the rankings.
Maybe Brendan Allen can forgo his main event against Christian Leroy Duncan and take a short-notice title opportunity. The idea is a stretch, but the UFC must be bold in how they handle this. It’s pretty much a worst-case scenario to have a numbered card with no main event planned when it’s just over a month away.
Ultimately, while there’s plenty of reason to be worried, MMA fans still have to trust the UFC here. Some fight that no one expects will be at the top of this card and will bring fans right back to being excited for the card.
— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —