The UFC 332 main event just went from unpopular to straight-up falling apart. And all it took was about 24 hours. Valentina Shevchenko has reportedly pulled out of her October 3 fight against Natalia Silva due to injury, leaving the UFC to look for a new headliner for its Salt Lake City show with precisely a month to go. And as expected, this is a pretty massive headache for the promotion.

The flyweight champ was supposed to headline the card against Silva, but according to AG Fight, ‘Bullet’ pulled out of the fight. Fans weren’t exactly thrilled with the matchup to begin with, and now that the champ is gone, the UFC has an even bigger mess on its hands.

It’s unclear how bad Valentina Shevchenko’s injury is, but it will keep the Kyrgyz-Peruvian MMA fighter from making her first appearance since November 2025. There has also been no indication of whether the UFC will introduce an interim flyweight belt while the champion recovers.

‘Bullet’ has continued her winning ways and remains one of the most dominant fighters in women’s MMA, but her recent performances have disappointed many. Since September 2021, five of her fights have gone to the judges, with the exception of a submission loss she suffered to Alexa Grasso in 2023.

While Valentina Shevchenko has previously had fights canceled or delayed, this latest setback is only the second time that she has withdrawn from a fight herself.

Her scheduled flyweight title defense against Joanne Wood in 2020 was canceled after Shevchenko was unable to heal a leg injury she sustained in her previous fight against Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 247.

The flyweight champion’s planned UFC 228 bout against Nicco Montano also fell through after Montano withdrew due to health reasons, while Amanda Nunes pulled out of their scheduled UFC 213 fight due to Nunes suffering an illness. Now, the UFC 332 situation marks another rare occasion where Valentina Shevchenko has officially withdrawn from a bout due to her own injury.

The withdrawal also has the potential to derail Natalia Silva’s momentum. The Brazilian has won eight consecutive UFC fights, defeating three former champions in her last three outings. The 29-year-old won unanimous decision victories over Rose Namajunas, Alexa Grasso, and Jessica Andrade, putting up one of the division’s best runs.

Silva is without an opponent now, and there is no rumored main event for UFC 332. Dana White has said that an announcement will come soon. When asked during a recent presser if there was an update or a timeline for the UFC 332 main event announcement, the head honcho had a brief answer.

“Yep, this week,” he replied.

With the majority of the UFC’s divisions already booked, waiting on existing bouts, or having recently seen their top contenders compete, the promotion has few clear possibilities for a new headliner.

The current UFC 332 lineup has some prominent fights, like Payton Talbott vs. Deiveson Figueiredo and Mick Parkin vs. Johnny Walker, but neither matchup currently carries the weight of a main event. And to make things worse, it seems like this isn’t the only plan the UFC had surrounding UFC 332 that seems to have fallen apart.

UFC 332 also lost the rumored interim light-heavyweight title fight

Carlos Ulberg underwent surgery for a torn ACL shortly after defeating Jiri Prochazka in a spectacular fight at UFC 327 earlier this year. His injury put the division on hold, especially because his battle against ‘Denisa’ was already for a vacant title.

The UFC has since considered introducing another interim title to keep the division moving. When asked about the idea about a month ago, Dana White indicated it was “very possible” that the promotion might add an interim title.

This sparked speculation that Jiri Prochazka and Paulo Costa will battle it out for the interim title at UFC 332. The two fighters had also traded barbs online, adding fuel to the possibility of a matchup.

Making things more interesting, Prochazka later confirmed that he was already a few weeks into his fight camp, suggesting that he planned to return soon. But as we all know now, the UFC decided not to go through with the rumored plan, and neither Paulo Costa nor ‘Denisa’ has an official next fight booked yet.

However, with Valentina Shevchenko now reportedly out, UFC 332 suddenly has a massive opening for a light-heavyweight interim title fight. With Dana White promising an announcement this week, fans should finally get the answer to how the promotion plans to fill the most important spot on the October 3 card.