Ahead of UFC 332, Valentina Shevchenko suffered an injury that could keep her out for up to a year, forcing the UFC to strip her of the women’s flyweight title. As a result, Natalia Silva and Wang Cong fought for the vacant belt, with Silva coming out on top.
Shevchenko’s longtime coach, Pavel Fedotov, revealed that “Bullet” was originally scheduled to face Silva at UFC 332. However, ligament damage to her shoulder and back forced the Kyrgyzstani fighter to withdraw from the fight.
With Shevchenko expected to spend a considerable amount of time on the sidelines, the team decided to vacate the belt rather than hold up the division. Fedotov also made it clear that the plan was for Shevchenko to return and immediately fight for the title once she was healthy again.
However, new reports suggest that Shevchenko may not have had much of a choice when it came to vacating the belt. According to Ariel Helwani, the former champion’s decision to give up the title was not entirely her own.
UFC 332’s Lack of a Title Fight Led to Valentina Shevchenko Vacating Her Flyweight Belt
The veteran reporter revealed that “Bullet” may have been forced to vacate the title because the UFC needed a championship fight to headline UFC 332 in Salt Lake City.
The card was already lacking star power on paper, and Silva vs. Cong being an interim title fight or a No. 1 contender bout likely would not have generated the same amount of interest. A vacant title fight, on the other hand, gave the event a championship main event.
While UFC 332 ultimately delivered on all cylinders and broke the record for the most knockouts on a single UFC card with 11, the buzz heading into fight week was relatively low.
Helwani spoke about the situation and shed some light on what happened. He said, “Does she have a lingering injury? Yes. If the UFC would have had another title fight for October 3, would she still be champion? Yes.”
He added, “Did she willingly give up that belt? No. Absolutely not. They needed a title fight. They said we’ll do right by you when you come back; you’ll get the title fight.”
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The event was initially expected to be headlined by an interim light heavyweight title fight between Jiri Prochazka and Paulo Costa while Carlos Ulberg recovered from his ACL injury. Those plans eventually fell apart, though, with Prochazka now set to face Navajo Stirling at UFC Qatar.
Shevchenko vs. Silva then emerged as a potential replacement for the main event. Had the fight gone ahead, it would have marked Shevchenko’s first numbered-event main event since UFC 215 in September 2017, when she faced Amanda Nunes.
The UFC had very few other options for a title fight at UFC 332. Joshua Van had just competed at UFC 331, while bantamweight champion Petr Yan and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski are both booked for UFC 333.
Islam Makhachev fought at UFC 330, while Sean Strickland is currently sidelined with the shoulder injury he suffered at UFC 328. Light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg is still recovering from his ACL injury, while heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall ultimately vacated his belt as well.
Justin Gaethje was another potential option, but he fought back in June and is not expected to compete again in 2026 with his hands still not fully healed.
The women’s divisions did not offer the UFC many solutions either. Mackenzie Dern competed at UFC 330, Shevchenko was injured, and Kayla Harrison is now scheduled to fight Nunes at UFC 335.
Grateful for every moment 🫶
@NataliaSilvaUFC is feeling all the emotions after a championship win at #UFC332! https://t.co/iTWPWPULDR
— UFC (@ufc) October 4, 2026
Still, if the reports are accurate, the idea of the UFC allegedly forcing one of the greatest champions in company history to give up her belt shows just how difficult the promotion’s situation was heading into UFC 332. Shevchenko may have agreed to vacate the title eventually, but it appears the UFC’s need for a championship main event played a major role in the decision.
Kshitiz Kumar Singh is a UFC Writer at NY Fights with over three years of experience in sports journalism and content creation. Known for his sharp storytelling and passion for combat sports, he has written in-depth features on stars like Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, and Ilia Topuria. Before joining NY Fights, Kshitiz worked as a UFC Editor at EssentiallySports while currently serving as a WWE Editor at FirstSportz. His admiration for legends like Georges St-Pierre continues to inspire his detailed and engaging MMA coverage. Whether he’s covering the Octagon or the squared circle, Kshitiz is committed to delivering accurate, high-quality content. Outside the world of sports, he’s a dedicated cinephile, often found practicing monologues from his favorite Al Pacino films, combining his love for cinema with storytelling.
