Natália Silva captured the vacant UFC women's flyweight championship at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, October 3, shutting out China's Wang Cong across five rounds by unanimous decision. The win gave Silva the title that had sat empty since Valentina Shevchenko was forced to vacate due to injury, capping a dominant UFC run that saw her go 8-0 inside the Octagon before fighting for gold. Elsewhere on the card, Payton Talbott delivered a first-round destruction of former champion Deiveson Figueiredo to announce himself as a genuine bantamweight contender. Of the 14 bouts on the full event, eleven ended inside the distance.
Full Results
| Fight | Winner | Method | Round | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natália Silva vs Wang Cong | Natália Silva | Decision (Unanimous) | 5 | 5:00 |
| Payton Talbott vs Deiveson Figueiredo | Payton Talbott | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 2:09 |
| Esteban Ribovics vs King Green | Esteban Ribovics | TKO (Punch) | 1 | 4:08 |
| Khaos Williams vs Roberto Soldic | Roberto Soldic | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| Roman Kopylov vs Ateba Gautier | Roman Kopylov | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 3:12 |
| Imanol Rodriguez vs Alden Coria | Imanol Rodriguez | TKO (Kick) | 1 | 3:11 |
| Damian Pinas vs Andrey Pulyaev | Damian Pinas | TKO (Punch) | 1 | 1:15 |
| Marcus McGhee vs Anthony Romero | Marcus McGhee | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 4:58 |
| Anthony Wint vs Lucas Armand | Anthony Wint | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 0:23 |
| Johnny Walker vs Mick Parkin | Johnny Walker | TKO (Knee) | 1 | 3:35 |
| Jacobe Smith vs Bruce Whitehead | Jacobe Smith | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 1:32 |
| Alexander Hernandez vs Rafael Dos Anjos | Alexander Hernandez | TKO (Punch) | 2 | 3:12 |
| Ismail Naurdiev vs Marvin Vettori | Ismail Naurdiev | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| Eric Nolan vs Court McGee | Eric Nolan | TKO (Punch) | 3 | 3:26 |
Main Event: Silva Claims the Flyweight Throne
The flyweight title has changed hands just once in the past decade. With Valentina Shevchenko sidelined by injury and forced to vacate, Saturday's main event offered the first open-seat championship at 125 pounds in years, and Natália Silva made the most of the opportunity with a composed and clinical performance.
Silva entered as the heavy favorite, having gone 8-0 in the UFC with notable wins over Jessica Andrade, Alexa Grasso, and Rose Namajunas in her previous three fights. Wang Cong, a Road to UFC standout who won four straight before earning the title shot, had publicly stated she expected to finish Silva on fight night. The challenger showed moments of aggression in the early rounds but Silva's defensive awareness and constant output stifled those windows before they could develop. Across five rounds, the Brazilian was composed on the feet, active in the clinch, and gave away almost nothing on the judges' scorecards.
The decision was unanimous. At 20-5-1 as a professional, Silva becomes the new face of the UFC flyweight division. The question of what comes next has one obvious answer — Shevchenko has made clear she intends to return from injury and reclaim the belt, and a Silva vs. Shevchenko rematch would be the biggest fight the division could produce.
Co-Main: Talbott Dismantles Figueiredo
Payton Talbott needed two minutes and nine seconds to dismantle former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo at bantamweight, and the manner of the finish — measured, powerful, complete — said everything about where Talbott stands in the 135-pound division right now.
Figueiredo had moved to bantamweight in search of a revival after struggling with the flyweight grind, but arrived at UFC 332 having lost four of his past five fights. Talbott, coming off the biggest win of his career against former two-division champion Henry Cejudo, wasted no time imposing his will. He found his range quickly, hurt Figueiredo with a combination on the feet, and went to the canvas to finish the job with controlled ground-and-pound. The referee waved it off at 2:09 of round one.
With back-to-back dominant wins over champion-level bantamweights, Talbott has a strong case for a top-five matchup. If the UFC has any intention of building a title contender at 135, the path goes through Talbott at this point.
Notable Prelim Finishes
Esteban Ribovics put veteran lightweight King Green away by TKO at 4:08 of round one — a clean, effective performance against a durable and experienced 155-pounder. Ribovics was efficient and composed throughout the round, and this is the kind of main card win that opens doors at lightweight.
Anthony Wint was the night's fastest finisher, stopping Lucas Armand at 0:23 of the first round in a heavyweight bout that barely lasted a minute. Wint's early power was explosive and absolute, and that kind of heavyweight knockout demands attention.
Johnny Walker added another highlight to his career with a first-round TKO of Mick Parkin via knee at 3:35. Walker's unconventional striking style created the opening and he finished properly when the moment arrived.
Alexander Hernandez stopped former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos by TKO in round two, continuing a career arc that has seen Hernandez become a consistent disruptor at 155. For Dos Anjos, the result marks another difficult chapter in the twilight of a legendary career.
In the early prelims, Ismail Naurdiev defeated a game Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision at middleweight. Naurdiev controlled the pace and distance across three rounds, denying Vettori the physical, grinding style he prefers, and the result adds a significant name to his record.
In this story
This article was generated with AI and may contain errors.