UFC 332: Expert Picks and Odds for Natalia Silva vs. Wang Cong in Salt Lake City

The vacant women's featherweight championship is on the line this Saturday in Salt Lake City when Natalia Silva and Wang Cong meet in the UFC 332 main event .

The title is up for grabs as a result of Valentina Shevchenko suffering an injury to her back and shoulder that will sideline her for at least a year. With the division's longtime best on the sidelines, the opportunity has opened up for Silva or Cong to make their mark in the history books by becoming UFC champion.

A man with plenty of championship experience will be in the co-main event, with two-time former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo battling rising star Payton Talbott. Talbott is looking for his second consecutive victory after defeating former two-division champion Henry Cejudo in his most recent outing.

You can watch UFC 332 live on CBS this Saturday beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The action is also available on Paramount+  --  along with every other UFC numbered event and UFC Fight Night included with your subscription! Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year!

Natalia Silva embraces arduous journey to first title fight at UFC 332 against Wang Cong Brian Campbell

With so much happening on Saturday night, let's look more closely at the full fight card with the latest odds before we get to our staff predictions and picks for the main card that you can consider before hitting the sportsbooks .

UFC 332 fight card, odds

Odds via  DraftKings  Sportsbook (Odds as of Oct. 2)

- Natalia Silva -205 vs. Wang Cong +170, vacant women's flyweight title - Payton Talbott -750 vs. Deiveson Figueiredo +525, bantamweights - Esteban Ribovics -230 vs. King Green +190, lightweights - Roberto Soldic -238 vs. Khaos Williams +195, welterweights - Ateba Gautier -258 vs. Roman Kopylov +210, middleweights - Imanol Rodriguez -142 vs. Alden Coria +120, flyweights - Damian Pinas -550 vs. Andrey Pulyaev +410, middleweights - Anthony Wint -520 vs. Lucas Armand +390, heavyweights - Marcus McGhee -550 vs. Anthony Romero +410, bantamweights - Johnny Walker -120 vs. Mick Parkin +100, heavyweights - Ismail Naurdiev -142 vs. Marvin Vettori +120, middleweights - Alexander Hernandez -278 vs. Rafael dos Anjos +225, lightweights - Jacobe Smith -1000 vs. Bruce Whitehead +650, middleweights - Eric Nolan -225 vs. Court McGee +185, welterweights

UFC 332 expert picks

With such a massive main event on tap, the crew at CBS Sports went ahead with predictions and picks for the main card from Brian Campbell, Brent Brookhouse, Shakiel Mahjouri and Brandon Wise.

Campbell Brookhouse Mahjouri Wise Silva vs. Cong Silva UD Silva UD Silva UD Silva TKO4 Talbott vs. Figueiredo Talbott TKO3 Talbot UD Talbott UD Talbott KO1 Ribovics vs. Green Ribovics TKO2 Green UD Green UD Ribovics UD Soldic vs. Williams Soldic KO1 Soldic KO2 Soldic KO2 Soldic KO1 Gautier vs. Kopylov Gautier TKO3 Kopylov UD Gautier UD Kopylov UD Records to date 25-22 27-20 28-19 20-27

Natalia Silva vs. Wang Cong predictions

Campbell:  In this matchup between skilled kickboxers, pairing Silva's high-volume, varied offensive attack against Cong's counterstriking will make the differences between the two fighters subtle. Yet, the speedy footwork of Silva, mixed with her distinct advantage in terms of elite experience, should be enough of an edge to get the job done over 25 minutes. Silva has won all eight of her UFC bouts, including three straight wins over former champions. She has also won 14 consecutive fights overall and is riding a mountain of momentum.

Brookhouse:  This is a very competitive fight on paper. Cong is a big volume striker with solid power for the division. Silva is also a fighter with a striking-first mentality, but Silva is much more adept at applying defensive techniques to the striking game. The question is whether Silva can slow Cong enough while doing enough offensively to take rounds, or if Cong can use pressure and volume to win those rounds instead. I don't see a stoppage coming for either woman, and I'm going to trust in Silva's more impressive resume against elite competition and ability to make adjustments to win her enough rounds to edge the fight out on the scorecards.

Mahjouri: Silva was always supposed to be here. The UFC was reportedly working towards a fight between her and Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 332. Cong got the call after Shevchenko vacated the title due to injury. That means Silva has been preparing for a fight much longer than her opponent has. Beyond that, Silva has more elite experience, having defeated former UFC champions in her last three fights. The fight could be very competitive on the feet, but I believe Silva has the better MMA striking. Cong claims to have power, but we haven't seen it materialize. The final nail in the coffin for the unlikely title challenger is the weight cut. Cong has admitted in the past that her increased musculature has made cutting weight more challenging. Against Silva, she must make championship weight on relatively short notice. Silva should run away with this as she figures out the timing and Cong's stamina wanes. Silva by unanimous decision.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/ufc/news/ufc-332-fight-card-predictions-natalia-silva-vs-wang-cong-expert-picks/)._