UFC 332 Results: Natalia Silva Wins Flyweight Title, Payton Talbott Moves Towards Stardom

UFC 332's questionable name value was cancelled out by its high-volume of finishes across the card, many of which came in the very first round.

Across the 14-fight card, a staggering 11 ended by way of finish, with nine being stopped in the very first round.

After dispatching of three former flyweight world-champions in her previous fights, Natalia Silva (21-5) was able to earn the belt herself, shutting out Wang Cong (10-2) on the scorecards to earn a unanimous decision victory.

In the co-main event, Payton Talbott put himself back into the spotlight with a striking masterclass over Deiveson Figueiredo, becoming the first man to TKO the former flyweight-king with strikes.

UFC 332 concluded with a new women's flyweight champion being crowned in Natalia Silva (21-5).

Silva's patented movement was the prevailing factor in the battle of two strikers, as the Brazilian was able to use her lateral footwork to dance around 'The Joker'.

From the very first round, it became apparent that Silva was the much faster fighter, catching Cong with check left-hooks has she attempted to engage in the pocket. Deterred, the Chinese fighter was forced to fight at distance using leg-kicks, which had little effect on her opponent's movement.

The taekwondo background of Silva was utilised to full extent during the bout, allowing her to drop Cong with a high-kick in the middle of the second round and a side kick in the third round. Kicks of all varieties were used by the Brazilian to maintain distance and stunt the entry ability of Cong.

Despite three rounds of adversity, Cong was able to hone in on Silva much more successfully during the championship rounds. In addition to her right-hand landing, clinch positions against the cage scored her control time. Silva showed small signs of fatigue, but not enough to stop her from continually countering Cong during her entries.

At the end of 25 minutes, Silva was awarded the decision-victory on the scorecards.

Continuing the trend of first round finishes, Payton Talbott (12-1) only needed two minutes to dispose of former 2x flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo (25-8).

Talbott extended his win streak to three in a row with a TKO over the 'God of War', dropping him with a one-two in the opening moments of the round, stunning him in a way that Figueiredo never recovered from.

A desperate takedown attempt from Figueiredo was countered with a knee to the head from Talbott, worsening the Brazilian's already compromised situation. After disengaging from the grappling, Talbott walked his opponent down, forcing him against the cage with a wheel-kick.

From here it was curtains for the former champion, who was dropped once again by a series of right hands, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Talbott did not hesitate to call his shot on the microphone after the fight, asking for superstar Sean O'Malley for his next bout — a sentiment approved of by the 332 commentary team.

UFC 332 provided fans with an array of first round finishes across both the main and preliminary cards. The notorious high-elevation of the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah was not enough to stop the fighters from providing finish after finish.

Jacobe Smith improved to 13-0 with a quick TKO of UFC debutant, Bruce Whitehead (8-3). After a groin-strike to Whitehead halted the fight, Smith quickly got back to business, slamming his opponent to the mat before finishing him off with heavy ground and pound.

Johnny Walker (23-10) continued the action with a vicious KO of Mick Parkin (10-2). Making his heavyweight debut, Walker entered the fight with questions surrounding his chin and how well it would hold up at the heavier weight-class. It didn't take long for him to silence critics however, as a knee to the head from Walker rendered the experienced Brit unconscious in the first round.

Damian Pinas (11-1) lived up to his "Baba Yaga" nickname, knocking out Andrey Pulyaev (10-6) at 1:15 of the first round. An uppercut through the guard of Pulyaev sent the Russian limp, putting him out cold before the fight ever got going. Two KOs in a row is a reminder that the division has a sinister figure in the shadows.

In one of the few decisions on the card, Roberto Soldic beat Khaos Williams by decision in a long overdue UFC debut. After getting rocked and dropped multiple times in the first round, Soldic rallied — mixing up his boxing and grappling to deplete the gas tank of 'Khaos', who continued to throw wildly. The second and third rounds saw Williams hurt frequently by Soldic, who although to put him away, still proved himself more than capable at the highest level.

Main Card:
Natalia Silva def. Wang Cong via unanimous decision, 48-47 x2, 49-46
Payton Talbott def. Deiveson Figueiredo via R1 TKO, 2:09
Esteban Ribovics def. King Green via R1 TKO, 4:08
Roberto Soldic def. Khaos Williams via unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-27 x2
Roman Kopylov def. Ateba Gautier via R1 TKO, 3:12

Prelims:
Imanol Rodriguez def. Alden Coria via R1 TKO, 3:11
Damian Pinas def. Andrey Pulyaev via R1 KO, 1:15
Marcus McGhee vs. Anthony Romero via R1 TKO, 4:58
Anthony Wint def. Lucas Armand via R1 TKO, 0:23
Johnny Walker def. Mick Parkin via R1 KO 3:35
Jacobe Smith def. Bruce Whitehead via R1 TKO, 1:32
Alexander Hernandez def. Rafael dos Anjos via R2 TKO, 3:12
Ismail Naurdiev def. Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision, 29-28 x3
Eric Nolan def. Court McGee via R3 TKO, 3:26