Women’s MMA standout Natalia Silva described how she thinks a fight against UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko would go.
Silva is the No. 1 contender in the women’s flyweight division and is patiently waiting for her title shot against Shevchenko. The 29-year-old Brazilian joined the UFC in 2022, and she has gone a perfect 8-0 inside the Octagon since then. Her list of wins is impressive, with former UFC champions in Rose Namajunas, Alexa Grasso, and Jessica Andrade among her victims.
She has deserved a women’s flyweight title shot for a long time. But up to now, she has not had the opportunity to fight Shevchenko, though she’s hoping it happens before the end of the year. According to Silva, the UFC told her Shevchenko is injured and unable to fight at the moment.
Natalia Silva Describes How a Valentina Shevchenko Fight Would Play Out
If and when Silva fights Shevchenko, she will be ready for it. Speaking to MMAFighting.com, Silva described how she believes a title fight between her and Shevchenko would go.
“I’ve had eight fights in the UFC, and in all eight of those fights, at some point my opponents tried to grapple with me, so I don’t think it’ll be any different with her. At some point she’ll look for the grappling exchanges because that’s where she feels more comfortable now. We train to be ready for everything because you really feel it during the fight, you know?” Silva said.
“You start landing shots and think, ‘I think I can get the knockout.’ You can create a strategy beforehand but what you truly feel only happens inside the fight itself. So we’re going to train and prepare to finish by knockout, prepare to finish by submission, but we’ll also prepare to win on points. As my corners guide me throughout the fight, we create those moments and eventually the victory becomes inevitable.”
Silva has shown essentially zero weaknesses during her UFC career, but her striking is definitely her best attribute, so she’s likely right in thinking that Shevchenko would try to take her to the ground. But with 90% takedown defense, Silva believes the math is in her favor as far as defending the takedowns go.
When Will Natalia Silva Fight Valentina Shevchenko?
As far as a timeline for a fight between Silva and Shevchenko goes, the Brazilian is still waiting for the champion to be ready to fight her, because Silva wants to get in the cage as soon as possible.
“We’re waiting and hoping the champion is ready to fight soon. From what she posts on social media, it doesn’t seem to be anything serious. It looks like she’s already back training. We’re just waiting for her to say, ‘Alright, let’s put the belt on the line.’ There’s no way she’s going to keep holding onto the belt forever, right? A champion has to keep the division moving. That’s all we’re waiting for,” Silva said.
Ideally, the UFC could get this fight booked before 2026 is up, so the women’s flyweight division could keep moving along. Until then, Silva will continue to train and get better so that she’s the best version of herself when she does finally get the chance to fight for the belt.
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