Natália Silva Is the New Flyweight Queen — and UFC 332 Was a Night of Pure Chaos

SALT LAKE CITY — The Delta Center had never seen anything like it, and by the time the dust settled, the UFC had rewritten its own record book. Saturday night's UFC 332 delivered eleven knockouts across fourteen fights — the most in the promotion's history, smashing a record that had stood barely a year — and then, in the main event, Natália Silva went out and did the quietest historic thing of the night: she became the UFC women's flyweight champion.

Silva defeated Wang Cong by unanimous decision, 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46, to claim the vacant 125-pound title in a five-round chess match that stood in wild contrast to the chaos that preceded it. She is only the second person ever to hold the belt besides Valentina Shevchenko, who vacated it after suffering back and shoulder injuries expected to keep her out for at least a year. Shevchenko had held the title since December 2018.

"Well deserved Natalia! Congratulations!" Shevchenko wrote on X after the fight. "It's my pleasure to know that (the) UFC champion's belt is now (held by a) deserving martial artist - such as you are. But don't get too comfortable. Keep it warm, I'm coming soon for my belt."

One step ahead, all night

The main event was, by every account, the slowest burn on a card full of fireworks — and the fans in Salt Lake City let their feelings be known, booing stretches of a tactical, methodical fight. But Silva, the 29-year-old Brazilian, was never in real danger of losing it. She was a step ahead of Cong from the opening horn, winning the early rounds with superior speed, footwork and combination striking, and she banked the fight's defining moments with head-kick knockdowns in the second and third rounds.

Cong, the 34-year-old Chinese contender, refused to go quietly. She rebounded with her most competitive rounds in the third and fourth, and her powerful final round — including a left hook that briefly appeared to stun the new champion — gave her a genuine chance on the cards. It wasn't enough. Silva's early dominance held up, and when the scores were read, Brazil had its newest champion.

The numbers on Silva are difficult to argue with: 21-5-1 overall, a perfect 9-0 in the UFC, and a 15-fight winning streak that stretches back to December 2017. To earn this shot she ran through three former champions in succession — Jéssica Andrade, Alexa Grasso and Rose Namajunas — a résumé nobody in the division could argue with. The plan had been for Silva to challenge Shevchenko; instead she gets the belt, the target on her back, and a division that's about to get very interesting.

Eleven knockouts. Nine in the first round. One historic night.

Before the main event ever started, UFC 332 had already become the most violent card in promotional history. Eleven of the fourteen fights ended by knockout or TKO, breaking the previous record of nine set at UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs. Borralho in September 2025. Nine of Saturday's KOs came in the first round — another record — including a run of seven straight first-round finishes from the early prelims to the main card, and eight consecutive knockouts overall.

"Crazy," said former champion Daniel Cormier on the broadcast, and nobody argued. The chaos started early: Johnny Walker, fighting at heavyweight for the first time, flattened Mick Parkin with a thunderous knee from the Thai clinch at 3:35 of round one — a finish that earned him a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus, alongside Damian Pinas, Imanol Rodríguez and Roman Kopylov. Pinas needed just 75 seconds to starch Andrey Pulyaev, his sixth straight first-round knockout. The streak rolled through the prelims — Rodríguez over Alden Coria, Marcus McGhee over Anthony Romero, Anthony Wint over Lucas Armand in 23 seconds — and kept going when Alexander Hernandez stopped Rafael dos Anjos in the second round.

Even UFC president Dana White, who had taken criticism for a card some fans called one of the weakest numbered events in years, got to take a victory lap at the post-fight press conference: "In 25 years, when has the card not lived up?" he said, brushing off the pre-fight doubters. "We do like 44 cards a year... not every card is going to be for you." This one, it turned out, was for everybody.

The co-main and the rest of the main card

In the co-main event, Payton Talbott announced himself as a genuine bantamweight problem, stopping former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo by first-round TKO at the 2:09 mark — the ninth knockout of the night, and Talbott's second straight win over a former champion. He used his post-fight moment to call for a fight with Sean O'Malley.

Esteban Ribovics opened the pay-per-view portion by dropping King Green three times en route to a 4:08 first-round TKO at lightweight — the eighth first-round knockout of the evening, and the one that officially broke the record. Green had missed weight for the bout, adding a sour footnote to a brutal night for the veteran.

The night's lone decision on the main card belonged to Roberto Soldić, the former two-division KSW champion who finally made his long-awaited UFC debut. Khaos Williams dropped him with a counter right hand in the first round, but Soldić answered with a dominant second and took the unanimous decision 29-28, 29-27 and 29-27. Roman Kopylov closed the main card by upsetting middleweight prospect Ateba Gautier via first-round TKO at 3:12.

The undercard deserved its own headline: Jacobe Smith knocked out Bruce Whitehead in 95 seconds, Ismail Naurdiev outpointed Marvin Vettori, and Eric Nolan's third-round knockout of Court McGee gave the night its eleventh and final finish.

What comes next

The flyweight division now has a new queen and a very clear line of contenders. The promotion has indicated that Alexa Grasso — the former champion who defeated Manon Fiorot at Noche UFC in September — will be next for the winner, which means Silva's first title defense is already taking shape. And looming over everything is Shevchenko, the greatest 125-pounder in history, who has made it plain she intends to come back for what she never lost in the cage.

For one night in Salt Lake City, though, the story was simpler: eleven knockouts, four records, one new champion — and a card that went from "worst numbered event in years" to an instant classic. Our pre-fight preview called this a coronation night. It just turned out to be the loudest coronation in UFC history.