State of Play: UFC's Women's Divisions After Silva's Title Win
Event: UFC 332: Silva vs. Wang — October 3, 2026, Las Vegas, Nevada
Image credit: UFC.com
The UFC's women's flyweight division has a new queen, and the rest of the women's divisions are shifting with her. Natalia Silva (21-5-1) outpointed Wang Cong (10-2-0) over five rounds at UFC 332 on October 3 to claim the 125-pound title. (MMA Fighting, OctagonStats)
Here is where every women's division stands.
Flyweight: a new era
Silva's unanimous-decision win ended Wang's title reign before it could begin — Wang had been positioned as the division's next star. The 29-year-old Brazilian is now 21-5-1 and holds the belt Valentina Shevchenko (26-4-1) vacated earlier this year after an injury her coach later revealed forced the move. (MMA Fighting)
Silva is already thinking bigger than one belt. She said she is confident Brazil will hold all of the UFC's women's titles by the end of 2026 — "a milestone in history." (MMA Fighting)
The first challenger picture is crowded. Wang Cong (10-2-0) will want the rematch, and the division's contenders now have a new champion to game-plan for — one who just went 25 minutes with one of the division's sharpest strikers and never faded.
Flyweight's neighbor: Grasso is coming
At Noche UFC on September 12, former champion Alexa Grasso (18-5-1) won a decision over Manon Fiorot (13-3-0) — a result with direct title implications. Grasso, 33, is a former titleholder with a win over one of the division's top contenders now on her recent record. If Silva needs a first defense, Grasso's name is at the top of the credible list.
What to watch
- Silva's first defense: Wang rematch or Grasso — either is a legitimate superfight for the division.
- Shevchenko's return: the former champion vacated injured, not retired. A returning Shevchenko immediately becomes the division's biggest storyline.
- Brazil's sweep: Silva's prediction gives the rest of 2026 a narrative thread — strawweight is the other half of that claim.
The women's divisions spent years defined by one dominant champion. Now they are defined by turnover — and turnover is where contenders are made. Division pages: women's flyweight rankings.
All fight data from the OctagonStats database. Records shown are recorded professional bouts.
Fight data compiled from public statistical sources (ufcstats.com) and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). OctagonStats is an independent database, not affiliated with UFC / TKO Group.