Natalia Silva vs. dominant champion: more fights to make after UFC 332

UFC 332 has come and gone, and a new women’s flyweight world champion has emerged. Natalia Silva has long been viewed as the next-best flyweight to Valentina Shevchenko, a view confirmed when she defeated Wang Cong by unanimous decision. 

Silva clearly banked all three rounds, being the busier striker and not letting Cong get into any sort of rhythm. The fight became more competitive in the later rounds, but Silva stayed a step ahead throughout the championship bout.

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Payton Talbott made quick work of Deiveson Figueiredo, TKO’ing the former flyweight champion in the first round and ending the fight without breaking a sweat.

This marks two straight wins over former champions, beating Figueiredo on Saturday and Henry Cejudo in his previous fight. 

Talbott was already touted as one of the UFC’s brightest prospects, but now he’s turning into a real contender. 

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While the card still lacked name value, the fights produced and set up big fights for early 2027. Here’s who the top fighters of UFC 332 should fight next. 

Natalia Silva vs Valentina Shevchenko

It’s the fight that was supposed to headline Saturday night’s event; it’s the fight that has to happen next. Valentina Shevchenko is, at worst, the second-greatest women’s fighter of all time, and she didn’t lose her title in the octagon. 

Shevchenko even sent out a message on X after Silva won the title; her quote is as follows. 

“Well deserved Natalia! Congratulations! It’s my pleasure to know that UFC Champion’s belt is now holding deserving martial artist such as you are! But don’t get too comfortable, keep it warm, I’m coming soon for my belt!”

There’s simply no bigger fight in the women’s flyweight division. Furthermore, this gives other contenders like Alexa Grasso and Fatima Klyne time to build their resumes even more to challenge for the title after Silva and Shevchenko fight. 

Payton Talbott vs Mario Bautista

Talbott called out top contender Sean O’Malley after beating Figueiredo, but O’Malley may very well fight for the bantamweight title again if Petr Yan beats Merab Dvalishvili. 

If that’s the case, then Talbott isn’t fighting O’Malley anytime soon, which means he’ll have to pivot his sights elsewhere. A name like Mario Bautista makes perfect sense. 

Bautista is on a rise of his own, winning four of his last five, including two in a row, beating Vinicius Oliveira and Cory Sandhagen. 

Bautista beating Sandhagen is impressive, but he still needs another fight before stamping himself as a title challenger. There’s a good chance that no matter who wins the co-main event of UFC 333, Yan will fight O’Malley, and Song Yadong will fight Dvalishvili. 

If that’s the case, it leaves Bautista in no-man’s-land, and he won’t do himself any favors by waiting for a title shot, so fighting a trending name like Talbott would be the smart move. 

Roberto Soldić vs Daniel Rodriguez 

Soldić started slow in his UFC debut against Khaos Williams but got comfortable in the second and third rounds. The striking combinations were beautiful. 

Soldić is a master at mixing body and head strikes, as he landed hard body punches while connecting with Williams’ head. Rodriguez is coming off a 30-second TKO loss to Uros Medic and needs a rebound opportunity against an unranked opponent. 

A fight against Rodriguez is the perfect opportunity for Soldić to earn a ranked opponent and begin his climb toward contendership. 

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