UFC 332 preview: Silva, Wang clash in huge title fight
Natalia Silva and Wang Cong fight for the vacant UFC women’s flyweight title Saturday, Oct. 3, in the main event of UFC 332 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. This UFC 332 preview starts with a milestone: the card is the first numbered UFC event to air on CBS, according to UFC.com.
The title became vacant after Valentina Shevchenko was forced to give it up because of an injury, per UFC.com. Silva enters as the division’s most accomplished contender on paper, with three straight wins over former champions, while Wang is riding a four-fight winning streak.
UFC 332 preview: Event information
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 3
- Early prelims: 4 p.m. ET (Paramount+)
- Prelims: 6 p.m. ET (Paramount+)
- Main card: 8 p.m. ET (CBS and Paramount+)
- Venue: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
The early prelims and prelims stream only on Paramount+, while the main card is simulcast on CBS, according to Paramount+.
Natalia Silva outlook
Silva, 29, is 8-0 in the UFC and has won 14 straight fights overall. Her past three wins came against former champions Jessica Andrade, Alexa Grasso and Rose Namajunas, according to UFC.com.
The Brazilian wins with quickness, kicks and movement. UFC.com credits her footwork with frustrating opponents and letting her land clean shots while rarely absorbing return fire. Saturday is Silva’s first UFC main event, which UFC.com notes could matter in a potential five-round fight at Salt Lake City’s altitude.
Wang Cong outlook
Wang has won four straight, most recently outworking Tracy Cortez at UFC 329, per UFC.com. The promotion says she owns the best striking differential in the division and the highest striking accuracy in flyweight history.
Wang has also shown she is willing to work from the clinch or top position, adding a grappling layer to her striking credentials. Like Silva, she is headlining a UFC card for the first time.
UFC 332 preview: Key matchup
Both women build their games around striking, and UFC.com expects “a striker’s delight.” That shared strength could push the deciding moments into the clinch and on the mat, where Wang has shown top-position instincts and Silva has well-timed takedowns of her own, per UFC.com.
Whoever controls those exchanges may win the rounds a pure stand-up battle leaves close. The five-round championship distance adds another variable, since neither fighter has gone into a UFC main event before.
UFC 332 preview: Fighters to watch
Natalia Silva
Silva’s footwork and range carried her past three former champions, but her past five wins all went to the judges. Her last finish came in May 2023, a TKO of Victoria Leonardo. A five-round main event gives her more time to find a stoppage, or to simply bank rounds with volume striking.
Wang Cong
Wang’s accuracy makes her a threat in the pocket against anyone, and her four-fight streak shows real momentum. How she handles the step up against Silva’s résumé will be the biggest question of the night.
UFC 332 preview: What to watch
The stakes in this UFC 332 preview are clear: The winner leaves with the UFC women’s flyweight title, but the division’s pecking order remains unsettled with Shevchenko sidelined. MMA Fighting‘s roundtable even questioned whether a vacant-title fight should headline a numbered card.
Saturday also serves as a test for the UFC’s broadcast partnership with Paramount, putting a numbered main card on network television for the first time. For more on the flyweight picture, read about Alexa Grasso’s first-round finish of Maycee Barber and Shevchenko’s response to Khabib Nurmagomedov, and follow more UFC coverage.
Reporting from UFC.com, Paramount+ and MMA Fighting contributed to this story.