TLDR
- Natalia Silva won the vacant UFC flyweight title by defeating Wang Cong at UFC 332 on October 3
- Former champion Valentina Shevchenko congratulated Silva but claimed the belt was still hers
- Silva rejected Shevchenko’s claim, saying ‘The belt isn’t hers; it’s mine’ and told her to get in line
- Silva disputed Wang Cong’s claim that an eye poke affected the fight outcome
- The new champion plans to defend her title in early 2027 and wants to remain active
Sources: sherdog.com | mmafighting.com
New UFC flyweight champion Natalia Silva has responded to former titleholder Valentina Shevchenko’s claim that she wants her belt back. Silva told Shevchenko to wait her turn in line for a title shot.
Silva won the vacant UFC women’s flyweight championship by defeating Wang Cong via unanimous decision at UFC 332 on October 3 in Salt Lake City. The victory extended her UFC winning streak to nine fights and her overall winning streak to 15 consecutive victories.
After the fight, Shevchenko congratulated Silva on social media but warned the new champion not to get comfortable. Shevchenko wrote that she wanted Silva to “keep it warm” and said she was coming back for “my belt.”
Natalia Silva claps back at Valentina Shevchenko after winning UFC title
📰 https://t.co/5oK1COYVKo pic.twitter.com/5tBhQnonCv
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) October 8, 2026
Silva Rejects Shevchenko’s Claim to Title
Silva quickly rejected Shevchenko’s statement in interviews with Sherdog and MMA Fighting. “The belt isn’t hers; it’s mine,” Silva said. “I waited a long time for Valentina.”
The Brazilian champion pointed out that Shevchenko vacated the title due to injury and was no longer active in the division. “She wasn’t even keeping it warm herself,” Silva said. “She would take a year between fights.”
Silva said she was scheduled to fight Shevchenko but instead faced Alexa Grasso in May 2025 and Rose Namajunas in January 2026 while waiting. “Now she wants to fight? That’s fine. She can just get in line,” Silva said.
Shevchenko last defended the title in November 2025, defeating Zhang Weili by decision. She later vacated the belt due to injury, which led to Silva’s title fight against Wang.
Champion Disputes Post-Fight Criticism
Silva also addressed post-fight comments from Wang and UFC President Dana White. Wang posted a video claiming an eye poke early in the fight affected her performance.
Silva disputed Wang’s account of the incident. “She said my finger brushed against her eye, but my hand was closed,” Silva explained. “It wasn’t an illegal eye poke.”
White suggested after the fight that Wang would regret her performance when watching the replay. Silva defended her game plan and strategy against this criticism.
“Whenever I win, people criticize my opponent as if she were a bad fighter, but that’s not it,” Silva said. “Our strategy is so well executed that we’re able to impose our game plan and the opponent can’t do what she had planned to do.”
Silva said she wants to defend her title in early 2027. The champion mentioned Alexa Grasso and Erin Blanchfield as potential contenders for her first defense.
The 28-year-old champion said she is not worried about facing any specific opponent. “I’m the champion now, and I’m the one who has to defend the title,” Silva said.
Silva expressed interest in fighting in Brazil for the first time in the UFC. “I’ve never fought in the UFC at home,” she said. “It would be great if the UFC held an event here in Brazil.”
The champion plans to fight in the first half of 2027 and said she wants to remain active. Silva said the division has many talented fighters who deserve title opportunities.
