This past weekend on the main card of UFC 315, we saw a pivotal matchup in the women’s flyweight division. Alexa Grasso (16-5-1) made the walk for first time since she lost the flyweight title as she took on surging top contender Natalia Silva (19-5-1).
Alexa Grasso shocked the world in 2023 when she submitted Valentina Shevchenko to become flyweight champion. After the two fought to a draw in their rematch, Shevchenko dominated the trilogy matchup to regain the title and Grasso was looking to bounce back on Saturday. Despite having just fought three times with a win over one of the greatest of all time, Grasso was the underdog to Natalia Silva on Saturday.
At first, the odds raised my eyebrows but the more I thought about it, the more I agreed. Alexa Grasso can at times be too tentative and Natalia Silva is constantly in motion throwing a lot of volume with sensational technique. I picked Silva because I thought she could get ahead early and stay ahead and that’s what happened.
Grasso seemed like she hardly got out of first gear due to the attacks from Silva. From the opening bell, you could see the huge speed advantage for Silva. Silva was light on her feet and was constantly throwing kicks and combinations. Every time that Grasso tried to close the distance, she paid for it. The one time Grasso made things dirty like she needed to, she ended up eating more shots from Silva than she dealt out.
After three rounds, it was very clear as to who was the better fighter at UFC 315. This fight wasn’t close and it was a shutout for Natalia Silva.
What’s next after UFC 315?
With this win, Natalia Silva has jumped up to the number one spot in the flyweight rankings and she should be next for a title shot. However, I think she’s going to take a backseat to a superfight. I believe that the UFC is going to book champion Valentina Shevchenko against strawweight champion Zhang Weili. The iron is hot with that matchup and I think the promotion is going to pull the trigger.
Silva definitely deserves a shot but I think she’s going to have to fight more time to get that shot. With that, I’m looking at the upcoming main event between Erin Blanchfield and Maycee Barber. I think that Silva should face the winner of that fight and ideally, that would take place on the undercard of the Shevchenko – Weili championship fight.