Natalia Silva ‘ready’ for title shot but won’t look past UFC 315 foe Alexa Grasso

Natalia Silva won 12 in a row since 2018, half of those under the bright lights of the UFC, and feels that a title shot could be next with a victory over ex-flyweight champion Alexa Grasso on May 10 in Montreal, Canada.

Silva is one of the hottest prospects on the UFC roster after beating the likes of Jessica Andrade and Jasmine Jasudavicius inside the octagon, and thinks that a win could set up a match with the winner of the UFC 315 co-main event bout between champion Valentina Shevchenko and Manon Fiorot.

Silva sees Fiorot as the “most difficult” challenge for Shevchenko in the division but still gives “Bullet” the edge at UFC 315, and envisions a scenario she’s next in line after Saturday.

“It could happen,” Silva told MMA Fighting, “but it’s not something I’m thinking at the moment because my focus should be on Alexa. How am I going to think about what’s next if I haven’t even fought Alexa, you know? One step at a time. After I do the Alexa fight and I win — in the name of Jesus, amen —, we’ll think about something else. But that’s really not the focus right now. Alexa Grasso is the focus. That’s the challenge I have to win now.”

Silva signed a new contract with the UFC after beating former 115-pound titleholder Andrade in her most recent bout in September, a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” award winner in Las Vegas, and said she’s “very happy” with her new deal one step closer to her ultimate goal.

“I think about that ever since I got in the UFC,” Silva said of the title. “I’ve always said I’m here in the UFC to be champion and it’s no different now. I’m still with that focus, with that goal of becoming champion. I feel ready for that, but now I have to climb this step to be closer to that dream. I’ve always felt ready, but it’s one step at a time [laughs].”

Going from the UFC APEX to Montreal’s Centre Bell means a larger audience and having to adapt from the smaller octagon to the bigger one, and Silva believes it benefits her fighting style. In fact, Silva said that watching Grasso share the cage with Shevchenko for nearly 70 minutes in 18 months gives her ideas.

“It’s a lot of material to study, we’ve seen what she does best and what she does that isn’t that good, and we’ll work on that,” Silva said. “When a fighter reaches such a high level with so many good and experienced fighters, the winner will be the one that makes less mistakes and capitalizes on the opportunities. That’s the goal. When she makes a mistake, I’ll take advantage of that — and try to make less mistakes. I think that’s the path to victory.”