Natalia Silva hoped to receive a hero’s welcome after defeating Wang Cong via unanimous decision to win the vacant flyweight championship at UFC 332 on October 3rd. Unfortunately, Silva’s hometown remained silent on any grand celebration, which made UFC fans sympathize with her.

A viral video showed Silva holding a parade in her hometown of Minas Gerais, Brazil, at the back of a red pickup truck. She wore the Brazil flag and showcased her new gold belt while driving through the town. Her coach also lit some fireworks to announce her arrival. But despite Silva and her team’s efforts to gather a crowd, the streets looked largely empty.

That is definitely a heartbreaking scene for Natalia Silva, who did not get a warm reception from the Brazilian fans, who are mostly very passionate about their UFC champions.

The country has produced some of the greatest fighters in the UFC, such as Jose Aldo, Anderson Silva, and Charles Oliveira. Usually, the crowds have also embraced them after winning the belt. For instance, Oliveira received a grand reception from the fans after he won the belt by knocking out Michael Chandler at UFC 262 in 2021.

No other UFC fighters in recent memory have gotten the cold shoulder from the crowd. That makes Natalia Silva’s case particularly unusual. However, one similar incident notably happened in the boxing world. 

Roughly 64 years ago, Sonny Liston knocked out Floyd Patterson in the first round to become the heavyweight champion in their first fight, held in Chicago, Illinois, in 1962. After winning the belt, he flew back to his adopted hometown of Philadelphia, expecting a massive crowd to welcome him. But other than a few reporters, nobody greeted him.

Liston’s situation is different from Silva’s because the city essentially snubbed him for his demeanor and controversial ties. However, it remains one of the few instances where a fighter did not receive a warm welcome from the crowd after winning a championship.

Natalia Silva’s homecoming in Brazil ended up drawing compassion from the fans who shared their reactions online. 

Fans react to Natalia Silva’s cold homecoming in Brazil  

One fan chimed in and wrote, “Aww man. That’s actually really sad. I’m not a fan of her, but damn. Poor girl.” Another fan wrote, “Though I don’t like WMMA, this is just difficult to watch.”

Following those reactions, a different fan took shots at Silva’s management for not properly arranging a parade, “Her management is useless. They’re supposed to have organised this via local media.”

It remains unclear whether Natalia Silva’s management failed to contact the local media to promote her championship parade. Despite the reason, the new women’s flyweight champion’s homecoming remained unnoticed.

Continuing the sympathetic reactions, another fan who does not consider Silva the legitimate champion wrote, “I actually kind of feel bad watching this even though I don’t consider her the legitimate champion.”

The 29-year-old defeated Wang Cong to win the belt after the original champion Valentina Shevchenko vacated the title because of an injury.

Even though Silva has proved her mettle by extending her 9-fight winning streak and remaining undefeated in the UFC, many feel that not beating Shevchenko resulted in her being considered the lesser champion. The fan’s comment has added a voice to that same sentiment.

A user who seems to have been unaware of Silva’s homecoming disappointedly wrote, “Smh I would’ve pulled up.” The fan being absent shows that many believed that the flyweight champ’s parade might not be properly publicized. However, not everyone was kind with their reactions.

Another fan took a sly dig at Natalia Silva’s popularity while grilling the women’s UFC MMA scene, “My goodness WMMA needs help 😭 shorty thought she was Amanda or Val.”

Despite the fan’s rather harsh comment, the fact remains true that Natalia Silva is not yet as popular as Amanda Nunes, Valentina Shevchenko, or Kayla Harrison.

But if she actually beats ‘Bullet’ in her return to defend her belt, Silva might finally get the celebration she missed out this time.