Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Valentina Shevchenko
Can DraftKings scoring machine Merab Dvalishvili keep pace Saturday at UFC 266? Chris Olson breaks down fights by style to make recommendations based on scoring criteria for four separate MMA DFS sites.
The picks are in. Seven RotoWire experts make their selections for UFC 266, and the crew can only agree unanimously on a single pick.
Will Nick Diaz regain his old form Saturday in Las Vegas? Drake Burden returns to offers his personal DFS spin on every UFC 266 matchup, all the way down to the early prelims.
The UFC returns to pay-per-view for the first time in over a month, with two title fights set to headline the event. Jon Litterine is back to break down key fights on DraftKings and make his picks.
More Fantasy News
To defend title at UFC 266
Shevchenko (suspension) will defend her UFC Flyweight Championship against Lauren Murphy at UFC 266 on Sept. 25, Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Shevchenko has already defended her belt five times since first winning it in December of 2018, and most fights since then have been heavily in her favor. This means she's also been cleared of a medical suspension she was handed after her TKO (punches) win over Jessica Andrade at UFC 261.
Shevchenko has already defended her belt five times since first winning it in December of 2018, and most fights since then have been heavily in her favor. This means she's also been cleared of a medical suspension she was handed after her TKO (punches) win over Jessica Andrade at UFC 261.
Hit with six-month medical suspension
Shevchenko is facing a six-month medical suspension after her fight with Jessica Andrade last Saturday, MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Shevchenko was able to successfully defend her Flyweight Championship, but she didn't escape unscathed with this medical suspension. If she's unable to clear it with a doctor she will be out until late October.
Shevchenko was able to successfully defend her Flyweight Championship, but she didn't escape unscathed with this medical suspension. If she's unable to clear it with a doctor she will be out until late October.
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.