Natalia Silva's road to the doorstep of her dreams -- headlining Saturday's UFC 332 card in a vacant women's flyweight title bout -- has featured so many delays and detours that the humble native of Brazil simply wouldn't have it any other way. If the overcoming of trials is necessary to build character, the 29-year-old Silva (20-5-1), who is rarely seen on camera without her trademark smile, is overflowing with it as she prepares to enter the Delta Center in Salt Lake City for her main event clash against China's Wang Cong (10-1). Silva wasn't able to land the fight she coveted most against Valentina Shevchenko after ligament injuries to her back and shoulder forced the two-time flyweight queen to vacate her title.
But with three straight wins over former UFC champions in Jessica Andrade, Alexa Grasso and Rose Namajunas, Silva is excited to finally get her shot to prove how great she can be. "It was a difficult path and a tough path through tough fighters," Silva said at Wednesday's media day. "It was not just former champions but former great champions that were good as champions.
I feel that this is a path that was tough, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I couldn't ask for something different than that because all of this prepared me to be where I am now." You can watch UFC 332 live on CBS this Saturday beginning at 8 p.m. The action is also available on Paramount+ – along with every other UFC numbered event and UFC Fight Night included with your subscription!
Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year! The injuries to the 38-year-old Shevchenko, who hasn't fought since last November when she dominated former two-time strawweight champion Weili Zhang over five rounds, delayed Silva's shot at the title even further. Most felt Silva had done enough following a May 2025 win over Grasso, but one more shot to prove herself came in the form of Namajunas at UFC 324 in January, where Silva won a disputed decision in a competitive fight.
Patience, however, has been a virtue Silva has been forced to become one with ever since her pro career first really started taking off in early 2020, when, riding a six-fight win streak, Silva received the call for a shot at the UFC. And that's when the challenges really started. Silva, who didn't begin MMA training until she was 18, two years after her first taekwondo class, broke her arm in training and was unable to capitalize on the offer from UFC.
Then, once healed, she almost instantly injured the exact same arm all over again following another break that led to a painful bone callus. To make matters worse, Silva would go on to break her nose in a training accident once her arm was finally healed, and was forced to begin living full-time at her gym in Brazil in order to make ends meet financially during a layoff over two years that delayed her UFC dreams. To Silva's credit, once she was healthy enough to step foot inside the Octagon for the first time, she shined bright in June 2022 when she recorded a 10-8 round en route to a wide decision win over Jasmine Jasudavicius.
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