The UFC is reportedly moving to replace the planned women’s flyweight title fight at UFC 332 after Valentina Shevchenko’s injury knocked the original main event off the card. With the show now just over a month away and only eight scheduled fights, the search for a headliner has become the story.
That is why the UFC 332 main event replacement is drawing attention now. The event is set for the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, UT, and the card does not have a single bout that looks like a natural headliner or co-main event at the moment. A replacement title fight is being discussed because the original championship matchup between Shevchenko and Natalia Silva fell through before the promotion could lock in its biggest fight.
Shevchenko’s status matters for more than one reason. She is in her second reign as the UFC women’s flyweight champion, and the planned meeting with Silva would have given her a chance to move past Amanda Nunes for the most women’s title fight wins in UFC history. Instead, the card is being reshaped around an injury that has left the promotion without the one fight that was supposed to carry the event.
There is also a competitive wrinkle built into the change. Last month, reports pointed to Shevchenko vs. Silva as the main event, with Silva sitting at #1 in the division and Wang Cong at #6. Now, according to @MagicM_MMABets, UFC 332 is expected to be headlined by an interim women’s flyweight title bout between Silva and Cong. That would keep the division moving, but it would also signal that the championship picture is being adjusted around Shevchenko’s absence rather than around her reign.
The unresolved piece is whether that fight is actually booked or still only being reported. The UFC has not yet publicly laid out the replacement main event, and the difference matters: an interim title would fill the main event slot and preserve the card, but it would also underline how quickly one injury can force a championship event to be redefined a month before fight night.
