UFC 332 featured plenty of surprises when the card was first announced but none bigger than news that flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko was relinquishing her title, and Natalia Silva would now battle Wang Cong for the vacant belt.
While Silva’s inclusion wasn’t all that shocking given her win streak and overall record, Wang getting the same opportunity was received with more than few curious looks. Of course, Wang is a top-10 ranked fighter but there were other fighters out there like Erin Blanchfield, who seemed worthy of a title shot but ultimately didn’t get offered that opportunity.
But Wang says she understood why the UFC chose her over other potential contenders.
“I’m not surprised,” Wang told MMA Fighting about her title fight opportunity. “Because how the rankings go either has a fight booked or they just fought. I’m on a four [fight] win streak and I think it’s my time.
“I’m always ready for a championship fight. I never take a long break after any of my fights. Even if I only had 17 days to prepare for this fight, my cardio is there.”
Of course, Wang also has history with the now former champion in Shevchenko after they met in a kickboxing bout all the way back in 2015. On that night, Wang earned a unanimous decision win and she eventually made her transition to MMA just like Shevchenko.
The idea of those two meeting again isn’t exactly foreign to anybody following the narratives of this upcoming title fight at UFC 332 but it’s the least of Wang’s concerns heading into fight week.
“I’m fully focused on this fight,” Wang said. “Those are things in the future.”
The title fight on Saturday could play out in a million different ways but Wang promises she’s ready for anything and everything about to be thrown at her.
Ideally, Wang knows this is a matchup between two fighters with elite striking and that should make for an entertaining affair until the fight is over.
“It’s going to be two world-class strikers,” Wang said. “We’re competing and the key to win the fight is takes the rhythm of the fight. It also comes down to desire, who wants it more and we’ll go against each other in the fight.”
