SALT LAKE CITY — The UFC returned to Salt Lake City for the fifth time and first since 2024 with a historic UFC 332 card that delivered 14 bouts and 11 knockouts, including nine first-round finishes and a UFC-record seven straight first-round KOs. Natalia Silva captured the vacant women's flyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Wang Cong in the main event after Valentina Shevchenko vacated the belt earlier this year, while Payton Talbott stopped former champion Deiveson Figueiredo just over two minutes into the co-main event.
Silva's victory snapped a four-fight win streak for Cong, who falls to 5-2 under the UFC banner. For Cong, a logical next step is the loser of Erin Blanchfield versus Jasmine Jasudavicius, scheduled for 17 October, which aligns well on timing. Blanchfield are 8-1 in the UFC with her sole defeat coming against Manon Fiorot in 2024, and she last faced Tracy Cortez in November 2025 — the last fighter Cong defeated. Jasudavicius is 9-3 since joining via the 2021 Contender Series, lost to Fiorot in October 2025 and rebounded with a victory over Karine Silva in April. With Blanchfield having been passed over for the vacant title shot, the loser provides a fitting test, while Fiorot — herself a striker — stands as a back-up option that would guarantee fan intrigue. The fallout from the title fight continues to be debated after Natalia Silva claimed the vacant title but the Shevchenko debate rages, and Cong later addressed her performance when Wang Cong blamed an eye poke for her slow start.
Figueiredo looked small against the 5ft 10in Talbott and his move to 135lbs since late 2023 has now produced a difficult stretch. After opening his bantamweight run with wins over Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt and Marlon Vera, he is 1-5 in his last six and, at 38 years old, may reconsider a return to 125lbs despite previous struggles with the cut. Should he return to flyweight, the loser of Amir Albazi versus Alessandro Costa makes sense. Albazi is 5-2 since signing in 2020 but is on a two-fight skid after defeats to Brandon Moreno and Kyoji Horiguchi in February, while Costa is 5-3 and riding a three-fight win streak, all via finish. The pair have met before, with Albazi stopping Costa in the final round in 2022. If Figueiredo stays at bantamweight, Bryce Mitchell offers a compelling grappler-versus-grappler clash. Mitchell is 10-3 in the UFC and 2-0 since dropping to bantamweight in 2025, with a unanimous decision over Said Nurmagomedov and a final-round submission of Santiago Luna in June.
Esteban Ribovics halted King Green's four-fight winning run with a late first-round TKO, sealing the finish with multiple knockdowns despite Green's protest. Green is now 17-13-1, 1 NC with the UFC since 2013. A veteran striking battle against Michael Johnson is the obvious next booking. Johnson, signed in 2010, is 16-16 with the promotion and also 40 years old, having seen a three-fight winning streak ended by a second-round finish against Drew Dober in March — the same man who finished Green in the same round in late 2022. Further down the card, UFC newcomer Roberto Soldic weathered an early storm to take a unanimous decision over Khaos Williams, who braved being badly hurt several times. Williams is now 7-5 since signing in 2020 and has lost three of his last four. Muslim Salikhov, 9-6 since 2017 and 2-2 in his last four, fits well next. Salikhov is on a two-fight losing streak after a first-round finish to Uros Medic in late 2025 and a unanimous decision defeat to Ignacio Bahamondes last month, and both men have lost to Randy Brown — Williams via split decision in 2022 and Salikhov via first-round stoppage in 2024.
The main card opened with Roman Kopylov derailing the hype around Ateba Gautier via a first-round KO, a result that underlined the card's record-setting finishing rate. Roman Kopylov stunned Ateba Gautier with a first-round KO at UFC 332 to set the tone for a night where finishes dominated in Utah.