Natalia Silva says she holds the skill-wise edge over Valentina Shevchenko.
Silva had already appeared to be next in line for a title shot against the reigning UFC women’s flyweight queen after earning a unanimous decision victory over former champion Alexa Grasso at UFC 315 in May 2025.
However, before she could secure a shot at Shevchenko, the 28-year-old Brazilian was handed a short-notice opportunity to replace Grasso and face Rose Namajunas on the UFC 324 main card this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Interestingly, Namajunas recently revealed that she has been told her fight with Silva will decide the next No. 1 contender for “Bullet’s” 125-pound title.
Natalia Silva Believes She’s Ready For Valentina Shevchenko
During UFC 324 media day, Natalia Silva addressed the possibility of a title clash with flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko if she gets past Rose Namajunas on Saturday night. The No. 2 contender spoke with quiet confidence, saying she believes her skill set is sharper, and that she can match Shevchenko’s intensity wherever the fight goes.
“Valentina definitely is not going to beat me in any area,” Natalia Silva said. “I train every day to be a champion, and it doesn’t matter if the fight is on the feet or on the ground, I am ready to beat her. I work every day in every area possible. If it’s striking, I’m going to beat her. If it’s any sort of grappling, I’m going to beat her, and I’m going to be champion. In the name of Jesus, yes, I am training for that, and I believe that a victory over Rose already puts a belt on this table within the next 12 months.”
Silva added that she felt ready to face Shevchenko after her last victory, but “Bullet” instead chose to defend her title against former strawweight champion Zhang Weili at UFC 322 in November.
“I wanted to have fought for the title already, but the UFC said Valentina would not be available to fight now and that they needed me to take another fight. They offered Rose’s name and we accepted. I believe that if Zhang Weili hadn’t fought Valentina, I would already have fought for the belt. For everything I’ve done in the organization, I think the person who was most ready for this opportunity was me. I believe that, yes. And a win over Rose already credentials me for a title shot. The UFC told me this fight is an eliminator and that the next one will be for the title.”
Natalia Silva remains unbeaten in the UFC at 7-0 and owns a 19-5-1 professional record, highlighted by dominant victories over Viviane Araujo, Jasmine Jasudavicius, and Jessica Andrade.
