UFC 332: Silva vs. Wang Preview and Predictions

Salt Lake City, Utah, hosted one of the most incredible moments in UFC history when Leon Edwards stunned Kamaru Usman with a head-kick knockout in the final round of their welterweight championship fight. This weekend, it will be the women’s flyweight belt at stake in the main event, and both Natalia Silva and Wang Cong will be looking to create a moment just as epic and memorable. The belt is vacant after longtime divisional queen Valentina Shevchenko vacated the title due to shoulder and back injuries. Silva and Wang will look to claim the vacant belt and begin their own run atop the division in hopes that this fight serves as the new guard taking over the weight class.

The co-main event is a men’s bantamweight contest between Payton Talbott and Deiveson Figueiredo. Talbott is an up-and-comer who is building his name as he takes on high-profile fighters who aren’t still in their primes. He most notably dominated Henry Cejudo when the pair faced off and now takes on former flyweight king Figueiredo. A win over another well-known opponent will potentially serve as a launching pad for his status as a contender.

The UFC 332 early prelims air live on UFC Fight Pass and Paramount+ starting at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the preliminary and main cards on Paramount+ at 6 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. ET, respectively. The main card also airs on CBS. Mathew Petela is here to preview the show.

The vacant women’s flyweight title is on the line in the main event; who comes out on top, and will she be taken seriously as the division’s champion?

Petela: This is a weird fight because it has to happen, as the division needs a champion, but it’s hard to get excited when nothing tells fans that either of these two women is the best 125-pound female fighter in the world. That doesn’t mean they haven’t earned a shot, with Natalia Silva having beaten a former flyweight champion in Alexa Grasso and two former strawweight champions in Jessica Andrade and Rose Namajunas, and Wang Cong winning four straight and sporting just one professional loss on her record.

These two are both incredibly technical fighters who have a smattering of finishes by both submission and knockout on their records, but this one likely goes the distance. Wang is an elite Sanda fighter who will likely try to keep the fight standing, where her Chinese kickboxing skills will probably give her an advantage over the taekwondo background of Silva. However, even though she is just a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Silva has shown that she is totally competent defensively on the canvas and has some slick transitions into submissions, so she may look to get the fight to the floor and might even pull guard. I think this one is close and goes back and forth for the full five rounds, and there will probably be a little debate about whether the right fighter got her hand raised at the end of the contest. I’m leaning Silva by a slight margin.

Payton Talbott took out a former champion in his last outing; can he do the same this weekend and topple Deiveson Figueiredo?

Petela: Well, this fight might be entertaining, but it is wild that it’s a co-main event on a numbered card. Payton Talbott is on his over-the-hill thumping tour, apparently, because Henry Cejudo was not near his prime when Talbott squared off against him, and neither is Deiveson Figueiredo now. Figueiredo hits hard, but his power hasn’t translated as much as most people anticipated as he moved up a weight class. He doesn’t move as well as he once did, which will allow Talbott to land precision strikes at kickboxing and boxing range.

I think this one will be entertaining, but mostly because it will show off the durability of Figueiredo and the technical skills of Talbott. It will go all three rounds, but the scorecards won’t be in question; Talbott takes this by unanimous decision.

Who’s the biggest winner at UFC 332?

Petela: Fans. This is a card that the UFC could have tried to pass off as a pay-per-view before the Paramount deal because of the title fight headlining the event. Die-hard fans would have been forced to shell out $80 to watch a thin card and probably would not have gotten a good return on that investment. With the new streaming deal, it won’t hurt the wallet to watch this lackluster fight card.

Who’s the biggest loser at UFC 332?

Petela: King Green. He dealt with a lot of adversity and overcame it in his most recent fight, but this time around, when he gets behind the eight ball against Esteban Ribovics, there will be no coming back. A loss at his age of 40 will show him, the fans, and UFC executives that he is not the same prolific fighter that he was a few years ago.

What one fighter’s UFC career is on the ropes at this event?

Petela: Most of them. This card is littered with fighters who are struggling and/or are well into the back nine of their careers. Specifically, I’ll go with Marvin Vettori. He has lost four in a row and five of his last six, with his lone win in that stretch being a controversial decision victory over Roman Dolidze, and he lost the pair’s rematch. He needs a win, or he shouldn’t be on the UFC roster any longer.

Which fight is the sleeper matchup on this card?

Petela: Alexander Hernandez vs. Rafael dos Anjos. Former champion dos Anjos is on a rough run. He has lost three straight and four of his last five. His back is against the wall, to say the least, and he will bring the action to Hernandez. Hernandez lost his last fight after a four-fight winning streak, so he will be looking to start building momentum. With both fellas needing a win, there is a high likelihood that they get after it early and often until someone gets knocked out or can’t continue due to the overwhelming damage that has been inflicted.

Who takes home the “Performance of the Night” honors?

Petela: Eric Nolan. He has a great opportunity to score a win against a household name who is well past his prime in Court McGee. Nolan has dropped his first two fights inside the UFC, and he needs a win badly. Fortunately for him, he will get that win and do it with a big knockout that earns him extra money in his pocket.

Pair this card with… 

Petela: A laptop. There will be long lulls between exciting moments on this card, so take advantage of that and rewatch some of your favorite old fights while you’re waiting for some of the action to heat up during the live event.