UFC 332: Injured Valentina Shevchenko vacates title, Natalia Silva vs. Wang Cong headlines for vacan

Just four weeks out from fight night, the biggest question surrounding UFC 332 finally has an answer.

UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko has vacated her title after suffering an undisclosed injury that is expected to keep her out of action for a year, the promotion announced Saturday during UFC Paris' broadcast. As a result, a vacant title tilt between Natalia Silva and Wang Cong is official for UFC 332's main event.

Shevchenko (26-4-1), a two-time UFC champion, is widely considered the greatest fighter in women's flyweight history. Her second reign began in 2024 with a revenge win over Alexa Grasso, then continued in 2025 with back-to-back defenses over Manon Fiorot and Zhang Weili. She was a unanimous winner of Uncrowned's 2025 Women's Fighter of the Year award, though she has been out of action since her November victory over Zhang.

In her stead steps in Silva (20-5-1) and Cong (10-1), both of whom are ranked within the top six of the UFC's Meta-generated women's flyweight rankings.

Silva, 29, has won all eight of her UFC appearances, culminating in a trio of triumphs over former champions Jéssica Andrade, Alexa Grasso and Rose Namajunas.

Cong, 34, has won five of her six UFC outings, most recently defeating Tracy Cortez via decision at UFC 329 in July. Her lone loss came in a 2024 submission setback to Gabriella Fernandes.

UFC 322 takes place Oct. 3 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

UFC 322's updated fight card:

Women's flyweight championship: Natalia Silva vs. Wang Cong

Bantamweight: Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Payton Talbott

Heavyweight: Johnny Walker vs. Mick Parkin

Middleweight: Marvin Vettori vs. Ismail Naurdiev

Middleweight: Ateba Gautier vs. Roman Kopylov

Flyweight: Imanol Rodríguez vs. Alden Coria

Middleweight: Damian Pinas vs. Andrey Pulyaev

Welterweight: Court McGee vs. Eric Nolan