The women's flyweight title will be decided at UFC 332 on Saturday, October 3 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, with Natalia Silva facing Wang Cong for a belt that is now vacant.
The promotion says champion Valentina Shevchenko "was forced out of the bout after she told the UFC she would be unable to compete for at least a year". CBS Sports reports the absence as an injury that will sideline her for up to a year.
Who is fighting for it
Silva arrives as the number one contender and is 8-0 in the promotion, with wins in that run over three former champions — Rose Namajunas, Alexa Grasso and Jessica Andrade.
Wang is 5-1 in the UFC, most recently beating long-time contender Tracy Cortez.
A vacant title is a blunt instrument, and it is worth being clear about what it does and does not settle. Whoever wins in Salt Lake City is the champion. They will also have won it without beating the woman who last held it, which is a conversation that keeps until Shevchenko is cleared to fight again.
Also announced
- Payton Talbott vs. Deiveson Figueiredo, bantamweight
- Damian Pinas vs. Andrey Pulyaev, middleweight
- King Green vs. Esteban Ribovics
- Ateba Gautier vs. Roman Kopylov
- Imanol Rodríguez vs. Alden Coria
The main card is scheduled for CBS and Paramount+ at 8pm ET.
Cards move. Anything that changes between now and October 3 will be updated here against the promotion's own announcements.
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