Natalia Silva has replaced Alexa Grasso against Rose Namajunas at UFC 324.
Silva was expected to get the next crack at reigning flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko; however, “Bullet” needs more time to recover following her Zhang Weili victory at UFC 322 last month in New York. As a result, Silva will take over for Grasso after defeating the former 125-pound titleholder at UFC 315 last May in Montreal.
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A reason for Grasso’s withdrawal has not been disclosed — but don’t be surprised to see her resurface at the rumored UFC Mexico City event in February.
“If I want to be UFC champion I have to face any challenge,” Silva (19-5-1) told Sherdog.com. “I don’t know what happened to Alexa, but I’ll be ready by then. Rose is a really tough opponent. She has great footwork, and when she is not comfortable in the striking she has great takedowns. Me and my team already started to study her to make a game plan to win.”
Namajunas (14-7) was last seen defeating Miranda Maverick at UFC Atlanta last June.
UFC 324 will mark the promotion’s first event on the Paramount+ streaming platform, featuring a lightweight interim championship main event between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett. Elsewhere on the Jan. 24 fight card in Las Vegas (see it here), Kayla Harrison defends her 135-pound title opposite Amanda Nunes.
Just remember to tune in one hour earlier than normal.
