\n<\/p>\n
Natalia Silva is the new women\u2019s flyweight champion, and she\u2019s not going to let former 125 pound champ Valentina Shevchenko talk trash from the sidelines about it.<\/p>\n
In a perfect world, Silva and Shevchenko would have fought at UFC 332 for the undisputed title. But an injury to \u201cBullet\u201d resulted in her being forced to relinquish her title. Silva would beat No. 6 ranked Wang Cong for the belt, which is technically undisputed but widely viewed as a placeholder title until Valentina returns.<\/p>\n
Not by Silva herself, though. The new Brazilian champion snapped back at Shevchenko, who had sent a relatively respectful message to the new champ about \u2019keeping my belt warm.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThe belt isn\u2019t hers, the belt is mine, and I\u2019m going to take good care of it,\u201d Silva told MMA Fighting. \u201cKeep it warm, right? She wasn\u2019t even keeping it warm herself. She would take a year between fights. She was fighting once a year, and now she\u2019s talking about keeping the belt warm?\u201d<\/p>\n
In contrast, Natalia wants to fight again as quickly as possible and as frequently as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to fight soon, I don\u2019t want to sit around,\u201d she said. \u201cI like fighting. I haven\u2019t gotten injured, I don\u2019t get injured in my fights, so I want to take advantage of my youth, right? I want to fight more frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether that fight comes against champ Valentina Shevchenko or No. 1 contender Alexa Grasso really depends on who\u2019s ready. In Silva\u2019s mind, it\u2019s all about defending the championship and not who the opponents are.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I\u2019m not worried about Valentina anymore,\u201d Silva said. \u201cI wanted to fight her because she was the champion, because she had what I wanted. She had the belt. Now, whether it\u2019s her or someone else, it doesn\u2019t matter anymore. I\u2019m the champion now, and I\u2019m the one who has to defend the title.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even have to think about Valentina. If she wants to fight when she comes back, and there isn\u2019t another fight that needs to happen, we can fight. But we also have to look at the rankings and the queue because there are some girls who are doing really well and deserve to be fighting, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
We can appreciate this level of bravado coming from the new champ. Strawweight champ Mackenzie Dern barely mentions the absent Weili Zhang\u2019s name, lest the Chinese star magically re-appear on the scene like an MMA \u201cBloody Mary.\u201d Meanwhile, Silva is talking trash and handling the Shevchenko situation head on. It probably won\u2019t help her win in the cage when \u201cBullet\u201d returns, but we appreciate the attitude.<\/p>\n