Valentina Shevchenko has suffered ligament damage to her shoulder and back that could keep her out of action for up to a year, forcing the UFC to strip her of the women’s flyweight title. The promotion announced the news during Saturday’s UFC Paris broadcast, confirming that Natalia Silva and Wang Cong will now fight for the vacant 125-pound belt in the main event of UFC 332 on October 3 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Shevchenko’s longtime coach, Pavel Fedotov, provided the first detailed insight into the injury that forced the former champion out of the event. Speaking via Telegram Ushatayka, Fedotov revealed that “Bullet” was originally scheduled to face Silva at UFC 332 before the ligament damage derailed those plans.
“We were supposed to fight on Oct. 3 against Natalia Silva, but due to an injury to the ligaments in the shoulder and back, we decided not to push things and postpone the fight,” Fedotov said. “Given that the recovery will take a long time, we’ve made the decision to temporarily vacate the belt, and once she recovers, she will fight for it again.”
The decision to vacate rather than hold up the division signals the severity of the issue. Fedotov made it clear the team’s priority is a full recovery, with the stated goal being an immediate title shot upon her return. That timeline, according to the coach, could stretch to a year, which would rule out any short-term return to the octagon.
The injury robs UFC 332 of its original headliner. 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. “Bullet” most recently competed at UFC 322, where she shut down Zhang Weili after the Chinese star moved up to 125 pounds to challenge her for the title.
Shevchenko’s absence leaves a considerable hole in the division she has dominated for years. The 26-4-1 veteran is a two-time women’s flyweight champion and has successfully defended the title nine times. She also shares the UFC record for the most title-fight wins with Nunes, with 11 victories in championship bouts. Those numbers place her among the most decorated fighters in the sport’s history, and the void at the top of the flyweight division will be felt immediately.
For now, the spotlight shifts to Silva and Wang. Both fighters will have the biggest opportunity of their careers when they fight for the vacant title at UFC 332, and the winner will leave Salt Lake City as the newest champion at 125 pounds. Silva enters with momentum and a growing reputation, while Wang’s rise has been rapid enough to earn a title shot in a division that has been defined by Shevchenko’s long reign.
The announcement also lands at an awkward moment for the card. Fans weren’t exactly blown away by the overall UFC 332 lineup, and losing the former champion is a major blow to an event that was already leaning heavily on the flyweight title fight as its centerpiece. The UFC will now need to rebuild interest around a new main event, with Silva and Wang suddenly carrying the weight of a pay-per-view card that has lost its biggest name.
Shevchenko’s career has been defined by consistency and longevity at the highest level. Her nine successful title defenses and 11 title-fight wins put her in rarefied air, and her rivalry with Nunes produced some of the most memorable championship bouts in women’s MMA history. The injury is a setback, but Fedotov’s insistence that she will fight for the belt again upon recovery suggests the team views this as a pause, not an end.
The recovery timeline remains unconfirmed beyond Fedotov’s comments, and no additional medical details have been released. What is clear is that the flyweight division now moves forward without its longtime champion, and the fight between Silva and Wang on October 3 will determine who carries the belt into the next chapter.
According to Yahoo Sports.