Natalia Silva picking Alexa Grasso to beat Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 306: ‘I think she’s had her time’

Natalia Silva believes Alexa Grasso will win the rivalry with Valentina Shevchenko.

Silva is moving up the UFC women’s flyweight ranks, and has a big opportunity to put herself in the championship conversation when she meets Jessica Andrade in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 97 this Saturday.

A week later, Grasso and Shevchenko will meet in a trilogy bout at UFC 306. Silva will certainly be watching the fight with great interest, and believes that it’s Grasso’s time to establish herself as champion.

“I don’t know Alexa in person, I’ve never had been fortunate [to meet] her but I follow her on Instagram,” Silva told MMA Fighting. “She comes off as somebody that’s so sweet and such a cool person, and I think it’ll be amazing to see her win and continue to win, and to defend her belt.

“With Valentina, I like her style, like the fact that she’s aggressive, I like the way she fights. But the thing is, I think she’s had her time. She’s had her moment and I think this is a time that someone else comes in and I truly hope that Alexa continues, retains that belt continues to defend. And when it comes my time, that’s a different story.”

Since making her UFC debut at UFC Austin in June 2022, Silva has won all five of her octagon appearances, including wins over Jasmine Jasudavicius, Andrea Lee, and Viviane Araujo.

Despite only being 27, Silva signed with the UFC in 2020, but her promotional debut was delayed after suffering a slew of injuries, including a broken arm. And while she’s made up for lost time in the UFC, Silva has been a fighter her whole life. That’s why the quick success in the world’s premier fight organization is not that surprising.

“It may seem very quick but if you think about it, there’s so much more than just those two years,” Silva explained. “If you think about it, there were three years without fighting ever since I did my last fight in Jungle Fight. I was prepared to come to the UFC and I prepared myself for it.

“So I’ve encountered so much and so many challenges throughout those years, So it’s not just two years, it’s preparing, obviously, my entire life for this. But when I knew that I was supposed to get my shot to be at the UFC, I spent all that time with the injuries and everything else preparing. So yes, it may seem quick, but I’ve been preparing for a moment like this. I knew that the the opportunity would come, so I was preparing all the time.”