UFC 324 featured a potential title eliminator in the women’s flyweight division. Former strawweight champion “Thug” Rose Namajunas (14-8) took on top contender Natalia Silva (20-5-1).
Natalia Silva made the walk on Saturday having won 13 fights in a row after a rough start to her MMA career. She has had won back-to-back fights over former champions and she was looking to add Namajunas to that list.
However, “Thug” Rose came for a fight and she looked really solid in the first two rounds. Silva wasn’t being aggressive enough and it felt like Namajunas was getting out ahead at UFC 324. In the second round, Namajunas also got a takedown which sealed that round for her.
I had her up 2-0 entering the third round. Finally, Silva started opening up and really used her speed in the third round. She won the third round going away, but with myself scoring the first two rounds for Rose, I gave Namajunas the fight 29-28.
13 of the other 19 media members also agreed. However, the three that matter the most all scored the fight for Natalia Silva giving her the unanimous decision.
What’s next after UFC 324?
Let’s remember, Natalia Silva wasn’t even supposed to fight on Saturday night. Namajunas was originally supposed to face former champ Alexa Grasso who just lost to Silva late last year. When Grasso fell out of the fight, Silva was willing to step in to face Namajunas for the promotion.
She said and Dana White confirmed that Silva was promised a title shot should she beat Namajunas and that’s what happened on Saturday night. It’s obvious at this point, but Natalia Silva is going to be the next title challenger for UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.
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