UFC 332 Matchmaker: What's next for big winners and losers?

UFC 332 took place Saturday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it was an electric card, featuring a number of exciting fights and vicious knockouts.

Following the event, it’s time to look ahead at what’s next for the big winners and losers.

Natalia Silva

The main event of UFC 332 saw Natalia Silva capture the vacant UFC women’s flyweight title, defeating Wang Cong via unanimous decision to win her first UFC championship belt.

For her first title defence, the most sensible fight is a rematch against Alexa Grasso, who is coming off a big win over top contender Manon Fiorot in her last fight.

While Silva already beat Grasso at UFC 315 in Montreal in May 2025, Grasso has done enough to earn a title shot, so the rematch between these two rivals has to be the next 125 lbs title fight.

Wang Cong

As for Wang, this was a tough loss to Silva, as she came up just a bit short on the judges’ scorecards and will likely regret not starting more aggressively.

Still, Wang isn’t far away from getting another title shot, and next up could be a matchup against a former No. 1 contender, Manon Fiorot, in what would be an exciting striking battle that would allow both women, who are coming off losses, to get back into the title mix at 125 lbs.

Payton Talbott

In the co-main event, Payton Talbott earned his biggest UFC win to date when he knocked out former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the first round.

Following the win, which improved Talbott’s UFC record to 6-1, he called out former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley for his next fight, and that would be a lot of fun.

Esteban Ribovics

In the featured main-card bout, lightweight standout Esteban Ribovics knocked out King Green in the first round after dropping his opponent three times with big punches.

This was the biggest win of Ribovics’s UFC career, but it comes with an asterisk as he missed weight. Still, he’s deserving of another big fight, and Alexander Hernandez, who beat Rafael dos Anjos on the prelims, would be an excellent next matchup.

Roberto Soldic

Making his UFC debut, Roberto Soldic earned a hard-fought unanimous-decision win over Khaos Williams in an awesome back-and-forth fight.

For his next fight, Soldic should get a step up in competition against a top-15-ranked fighter, and with Daniel Rodriguez available right now, a matchup between the two could work.

Roman Kopylov

In a massive upset that kicked off the main card, veteran Roman Kopylov earned one of the biggest wins of his UFC career to date when he knocked out Ateba Gatier in the first round.

This was a huge result for Kopylov, who wasn't expected to have his hand held high, and it should earn him a bigger name for his next fight against someone like UFC Hall of Famer Kelvin Gastelum, a durable, long-time middleweight contender who should be a good test for Kopylov.

Damian Pinas

Middleweight prospect Damian Pinas upped his UFC record to 3-0 — all three of which were first-round knockouts — as he slept Andrey Pulyaev cold in the first round.

Pinas truly looks like a future world champion in the UFC middleweight division, but at age 24, there’s no need to rush him. That’s why he should square off against Edmen Shahbazyan next, a middleweight veteran ranked at the bottom end of the top 15.

Marcus McGhee

Veteran bantamweight Marcus McGhee earned a first-round TKO over UFC debutant Anthony Romero to improve to 6-1 in the UFC in a short-notice featherweight matchup.

McGhee is an excellent fighter who has had a string of bad luck with opponents pulling out with injuries, but it’s absolutely time he fights someone else in the top-15 rankings next.

One fun fight would be McGhee against fellow knockout artist Montel Jackson in a matchup between two bantamweights with a ton of KO power.

Anthony Wint

Former New York Jets linebacker Anthony Wint improved to 2-0 in the UFC with a first-round knockout win over Lucas Armand in a fight that lasted just 23 seconds.

After improving to 9-0 in his MMA career, it’s time Wint gets a step up in competition. Following the win over Armand, he called out Sean Sharaf, who is fresh off the biggest upset win in UFC history over Gable Steveson, and it’s a fight that makes a ton of sense for both.

Johnny Walker

Long-time UFC light heavyweight fighter Johnny Walker had a heavyweight debut to remember, brutally knocking out Mick Parkin with a knee from the clinch in the first round.

This was an absolutely incredible win for Walker over a fighter in Parkin who was previously ranked, and it’s the type of win that should fast-track Walker towards a top-15 opponent.

For his next fight, let’s match up Walker against Aleksandar Rakic, another former light heavyweight fighter who also won his heavyweight debut in August against Marcin Tybura.

Jacobe Smith

In a short-notice fight, Jacobe Smith quickly dispatched UFC newcomer Bruce Whitehead in the first round, slamming him to the ground and finishing him with ground strikes.

Smith is now 12-0 in his MMA career, including a 4-0 record in the UFC, and it’s time that he gets a significant step up in competition so we can see how good a fighter he actually is.

Neil Magny, the division’s ultimate gatekeeper to the top-15 rankings, would be the perfect test for Smith, because if he can beat Magny, it would prove he’s ready for ranked opposition, while a loss may show that Smith’s hype train needs to slow down.