Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Valentina Shevchenko
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Cruises to another title defense
Shevchenko successfully defended her UFC Women's Flyweight Championship on Saturday, defeating Jessica Andrade via TKO (punches) at 3:19 of Round 2 at UFC 261 in Jacksonville.
ANALYSIS
"Defended" is one way to describe the win, "dominated and destroyed" is another. Shevchenko looked somewhat mortal -- at least for her -- in her past couple bouts, so she responded by going out and making a complete mockery of a former UFC champion in Andrade. Valentina has never been known as much of a wrestler, but she dragged Jessica to the mat at will en route to seven successful takedown attempts. It was a merciful stoppage from referee Dan Miragiliotta, as it was only going to get worse for Andrade from there. We all know there isn't a flyweight on the roster who can remotely challenge Valentina. It feels as if every single title fight at both 125 pounds and 135 pounds is nothing more than an appetizer until Shevchenko and Amanda Nunes eventually meet for a third time.
"Defended" is one way to describe the win, "dominated and destroyed" is another. Shevchenko looked somewhat mortal -- at least for her -- in her past couple bouts, so she responded by going out and making a complete mockery of a former UFC champion in Andrade. Valentina has never been known as much of a wrestler, but she dragged Jessica to the mat at will en route to seven successful takedown attempts. It was a merciful stoppage from referee Dan Miragiliotta, as it was only going to get worse for Andrade from there. We all know there isn't a flyweight on the roster who can remotely challenge Valentina. It feels as if every single title fight at both 125 pounds and 135 pounds is nothing more than an appetizer until Shevchenko and Amanda Nunes eventually meet for a third time.
To defend title at UFC 261
Shevchenko will defend her UFC Flyweight Championship against Jessica Andrade at UFC 261 on April 24, Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Fresh off her fourth consecutive title defense to bring her UFC winning streak to six, Shevchenko stands to enter this fight as a heavy favorite, as will be the case against just about any challenger in the women's 125-pound division. Shevchenko will also enter this one with a significant size advantage over a former strawweight, as "Bullet" will sport four-inch advantages in both height and reach. She'll have to deal with steady takedown pressure from Andrade, but Shevchenko sports a career 75 percent takedown defense and has only been taken down once over her six-fight winning streak. Andrade also throws a statistically higher striking volume, though the defense marks for Shevchenko are far superior.
Fresh off her fourth consecutive title defense to bring her UFC winning streak to six, Shevchenko stands to enter this fight as a heavy favorite, as will be the case against just about any challenger in the women's 125-pound division. Shevchenko will also enter this one with a significant size advantage over a former strawweight, as "Bullet" will sport four-inch advantages in both height and reach. She'll have to deal with steady takedown pressure from Andrade, but Shevchenko sports a career 75 percent takedown defense and has only been taken down once over her six-fight winning streak. Andrade also throws a statistically higher striking volume, though the defense marks for Shevchenko are far superior.
Remains Flyweight Queen
Shevchenko successfully defended her UFC Women's Flyweight Championship on Saturday, defeating Jennifer Maia via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) at UFC 255 in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
This was not one of Valentina's better performances and she still won going away. Shevchenko looked a bit slow on the feet until the final minutes of the fight, but he grappling carried her to the victory. Valentina repeatedly grabbed Maia's head and forced her to the mat. There was nothing technical about it, but Shevchenko's upper-body strength generally did the trick. The one round Valentina lost was was the second. In that one, Maia managed to control the pace of the fight along the fence and on the mat. Still, Shevchenko was never in any sort of legitimate trouble. We've said it time and time again, but it's going to take some sort of Herculean effort to get the better off Shevchenko at 125 pounds. Former UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Jessica Andrade would appear to be next in line but a lot of people aren't going to take a Shevchenko fight seriously until she and current UFC Women's Bantamweight/Featherweight Champion Amanda Nunes inevitably meet for a third time.
This was not one of Valentina's better performances and she still won going away. Shevchenko looked a bit slow on the feet until the final minutes of the fight, but he grappling carried her to the victory. Valentina repeatedly grabbed Maia's head and forced her to the mat. There was nothing technical about it, but Shevchenko's upper-body strength generally did the trick. The one round Valentina lost was was the second. In that one, Maia managed to control the pace of the fight along the fence and on the mat. Still, Shevchenko was never in any sort of legitimate trouble. We've said it time and time again, but it's going to take some sort of Herculean effort to get the better off Shevchenko at 125 pounds. Former UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Jessica Andrade would appear to be next in line but a lot of people aren't going to take a Shevchenko fight seriously until she and current UFC Women's Bantamweight/Featherweight Champion Amanda Nunes inevitably meet for a third time.
To defend title at UFC 255
Shevchenko (leg) will officially make her next title defense against Jennifer Maia at UFC 255 on Nov. 21, Brett Okamoto of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
This is a fight that has essentially been locked in since Maia's victory over Joanne Calderwood in Las Vegas on Aug. 1, but now it appears a date is locked in. Despite coming off injury, Shevchenko is the superior fighter in all aspects of the game and should enter this one as a heavy favorite. She'll also own height and reach advantages.
This is a fight that has essentially been locked in since Maia's victory over Joanne Calderwood in Las Vegas on Aug. 1, but now it appears a date is locked in. Despite coming off injury, Shevchenko is the superior fighter in all aspects of the game and should enter this one as a heavy favorite. She'll also own height and reach advantages.
Defending title against Maia
Shevchenko (leg) will defend her flyweight title against Jennifer Maia at an unspecified UFC event, Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Maia took down Joanne Calderwood during Round 1 at UFC Vegas 5 on Saturday, and Dana White wasted little time confirming the new title matchup. Calderwood previously lined up to challenge for the belt in June, but the bout was postponed after Shevchenko underwent surgery to address a torn MCL. Shevchenko was targeting a return in late August, so she should be healthy in plenty of time whenever her title defense is scheduled. "Bullet" is expected to be a heavy favorite over Maia given her level of domination over the flyweight division.
Maia took down Joanne Calderwood during Round 1 at UFC Vegas 5 on Saturday, and Dana White wasted little time confirming the new title matchup. Calderwood previously lined up to challenge for the belt in June, but the bout was postponed after Shevchenko underwent surgery to address a torn MCL. Shevchenko was targeting a return in late August, so she should be healthy in plenty of time whenever her title defense is scheduled. "Bullet" is expected to be a heavy favorite over Maia given her level of domination over the flyweight division.