Valentina Shevchenko
Bullet
Kyrgyzstan
Digs deep to retain UFC gold
Shevchenko retained the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship on Saturday, defeating Manon Fiorot via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) at UFC 315 in Montreal.
ANALYSIS
It was the very definition of a back-and-forth fight that could have gone either way. Entering as a +110 underdog, Valentina dominated Round 1, picking apart Fiorot on the feet to the point she was a north of a -1000 favorite by the time the frame ended. Yet, the challenger pushed back, gaining momentum as the fight progressed. Shevchenko spent far too much time being pinned along the fence, but she made sure she didn't absorb any significant damage. Fiorot was credited with 7:07 worth of control time, but landed just 1-of-12 takedown attempts. The biggest strike of the night was a Valentina knockdown with just seconds remaining in Round 4. Not very much happened either way in Round 5. Ultimately, the bigger offensive moments of the fight came from the Shevchenko side, but it was hairy. Valentina's next title defense seems likely to come against Natalia Silva, who torched former champion and Valentina rival Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision earlier in the evening.
It was the very definition of a back-and-forth fight that could have gone either way. Entering as a +110 underdog, Valentina dominated Round 1, picking apart Fiorot on the feet to the point she was a north of a -1000 favorite by the time the frame ended. Yet, the challenger pushed back, gaining momentum as the fight progressed. Shevchenko spent far too much time being pinned along the fence, but she made sure she didn't absorb any significant damage. Fiorot was credited with 7:07 worth of control time, but landed just 1-of-12 takedown attempts. The biggest strike of the night was a Valentina knockdown with just seconds remaining in Round 4. Not very much happened either way in Round 5. Ultimately, the bigger offensive moments of the fight came from the Shevchenko side, but it was hairy. Valentina's next title defense seems likely to come against Natalia Silva, who torched former champion and Valentina rival Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision earlier in the evening.
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Next title defense in May
Shevchencko will defend her UFC Women's Flyweight Championship against Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 on May 10 in Montreal.
ANALYSIS
The flyweight champion is coming off a dominant victory against Alexa Grasso last September that allowed her to regain her belt following a previous loss and draw against Grasso. The Bullet will face the French Manon Fiorot, who defeated Erin Blanchfield back in March to mark her seventh consecutive victory since joining the UFC. Fiorot throws (and lands) at a higher volume than Shevchenko, but essentially all other statistical marks fall in favor of the champion.
The flyweight champion is coming off a dominant victory against Alexa Grasso last September that allowed her to regain her belt following a previous loss and draw against Grasso. The Bullet will face the French Manon Fiorot, who defeated Erin Blanchfield back in March to mark her seventh consecutive victory since joining the UFC. Fiorot throws (and lands) at a higher volume than Shevchenko, but essentially all other statistical marks fall in favor of the champion.
Dominates to regain UFC gold
Shevchenko regained the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship on Saturday, defeating Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) at UFC 306 in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
As Daniel Cormier correctly pointed out on commentary during the broadcast, this type of domination makes it easy to understand why Shevchenko was a -800 favorite the first time these two women fought back in March 2023. Grasso has improved considerably over the years, but the gap between these two in terms of pure physicality is overwhelming. Not the least bit interested in putting on an entertaining bout, Valentina went to her grappling over and over again, and rightfully so. She landed 8-of-12 takedown attempts, a new career-best mark. She finished with 16:04 worth of control time, or north of three full rounds. If that wasn't enough, Shevchenko also got the better of the very few striking exchanges between the two. It was complete and utter domination from start to finish. The next opponent for Valentina at this point is an open question. The 125-pound female division has almost zero depth to begin with. There have been some rumblings of UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili potentially mulling a move up to flyweight, so perhaps that will materialize down the road. Nothing else stands out.
As Daniel Cormier correctly pointed out on commentary during the broadcast, this type of domination makes it easy to understand why Shevchenko was a -800 favorite the first time these two women fought back in March 2023. Grasso has improved considerably over the years, but the gap between these two in terms of pure physicality is overwhelming. Not the least bit interested in putting on an entertaining bout, Valentina went to her grappling over and over again, and rightfully so. She landed 8-of-12 takedown attempts, a new career-best mark. She finished with 16:04 worth of control time, or north of three full rounds. If that wasn't enough, Shevchenko also got the better of the very few striking exchanges between the two. It was complete and utter domination from start to finish. The next opponent for Valentina at this point is an open question. The 125-pound female division has almost zero depth to begin with. There have been some rumblings of UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili potentially mulling a move up to flyweight, so perhaps that will materialize down the road. Nothing else stands out.
Will take on Grasso once again
Shevchenko (hand) will face Alexa Grasso in a flyweight bout in UFC Noche at Sphere in Las Vegas on Sep. 14.
ANALYSIS
Grasso vs Shevchenko will be the co-main event of a thrilling event, as the headliner of UFC Noche will be the epic fight between Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight world title. This will be the third contest between these two elite fighters, and considering the most recent event between them ended in a split fight, the stakes will be even higher here. Shevchenko will aim to steal the belt from Grasso while knowing that she lost her world-champion status against the same opponent in March 2023.
Grasso vs Shevchenko will be the co-main event of a thrilling event, as the headliner of UFC Noche will be the epic fight between Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight world title. This will be the third contest between these two elite fighters, and considering the most recent event between them ended in a split fight, the stakes will be even higher here. Shevchenko will aim to steal the belt from Grasso while knowing that she lost her world-champion status against the same opponent in March 2023.
Suffers fractured hand
Shevchenko announced Tuesday via social media that she suffered a comminuted fracture on her right hand while fighting Alexa Grasso to a split draw at Noche UFC in Las Vegas on Saturday and will require surgery.
ANALYSIS
Shevchenko will be in a cast for a month and will be barred from taking contact for three months. She suffered the injury in the first round of her title rematch against Alexa Grasso, who retained the 125-pound title.
Shevchenko will be in a cast for a month and will be barred from taking contact for three months. She suffered the injury in the first round of her title rematch against Alexa Grasso, who retained the 125-pound title.
Quest to regain belt ends in draw
Shevchenko and champion Alexa Grasso fought to a split draw (47-48, 48-47, 47-47) in their UFC Women's Flyweight title fight on Saturday at Noche UFC in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
There's a lot to dissect here. Depending on your point of view, Shevchenko was either lucky to emerge with the draw, or extremely unlikely she didn't regain the title. Rounds 1, 2, and 3 were clear as day, with Valentina winning the odd numbers and Grasso the second frame. Round 4 was closer, but likely deserved to go in favor of the current champion. Everything got screwy in Round 5. Shevchenko was working behind her jab and seemingly in full control, at which point Grasso somehow took her back, flattened her out, and then nearly submitted her. Judge Mike Bell scored the frame 10-8 for Grasso, which is difficult to justify considering she was losing most of the round. Virtually all of Valentina's success came behind her previously mentioned jab, plus her four successful takedowns. The bottom line is that these two seemed destined to fight again.
There's a lot to dissect here. Depending on your point of view, Shevchenko was either lucky to emerge with the draw, or extremely unlikely she didn't regain the title. Rounds 1, 2, and 3 were clear as day, with Valentina winning the odd numbers and Grasso the second frame. Round 4 was closer, but likely deserved to go in favor of the current champion. Everything got screwy in Round 5. Shevchenko was working behind her jab and seemingly in full control, at which point Grasso somehow took her back, flattened her out, and then nearly submitted her. Judge Mike Bell scored the frame 10-8 for Grasso, which is difficult to justify considering she was losing most of the round. Virtually all of Valentina's success came behind her previously mentioned jab, plus her four successful takedowns. The bottom line is that these two seemed destined to fight again.