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Creates career defining highlight
Shevchenko defeated Jessica Eye via KO (Head Kick) at 0:26 of Round 2 at UFC 238 on Saturday in Chicago.
ANALYSIS
Shevchenko was a huge favorite coming to this fight, and she certainly looked the part. After dominating on the ground in the first round, she unleashed a vicious head kick. Eye was out on contact, and the fight was over. This was a scary knockout, but Shevchenko looked like the dominant champion that she is. She appears to be head and shoulders above the rest of the division, but the promotion will continue to line up challengers. She'll also take home a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for her efforts.
Shevchenko was a huge favorite coming to this fight, and she certainly looked the part. After dominating on the ground in the first round, she unleashed a vicious head kick. Eye was out on contact, and the fight was over. This was a scary knockout, but Shevchenko looked like the dominant champion that she is. She appears to be head and shoulders above the rest of the division, but the promotion will continue to line up challengers. She'll also take home a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for her efforts.
Re-ups with UFC
Shevchenko signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC on Friday, Brett Okamoto of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
Shevchenko is already booked to defend her UFC Flyweight Title against Jessica Eye at UFC 238 on June 8, but win or lose, this won't be the end of her run with the UFC after signing a new deal with the promotion. Shevchenko is 5-2 since joining the UFC back in late 2015.
Shevchenko is already booked to defend her UFC Flyweight Title against Jessica Eye at UFC 238 on June 8, but win or lose, this won't be the end of her run with the UFC after signing a new deal with the promotion. Shevchenko is 5-2 since joining the UFC back in late 2015.
Set to defend title against Jessica Eye
Shevchenko will defend her UFC Flyweight Title against Jessica Eye at UFC 238 in Chicago on June 8.
ANALYSIS
Shevchenchko claimed the title when she defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) at UFC 231 in December and she'll enter the octagon with that title for the first time in June against Eye. The dominance in that performance makes her the favorite against Eye, who was most recently seen in a win via split decision (29-29, 28-29, 29-28) over Katlyn Chookagian at the same UFC 231 where Shevchenko claimed her title.
Shevchenchko claimed the title when she defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) at UFC 231 in December and she'll enter the octagon with that title for the first time in June against Eye. The dominance in that performance makes her the favorite against Eye, who was most recently seen in a win via split decision (29-29, 28-29, 29-28) over Katlyn Chookagian at the same UFC 231 where Shevchenko claimed her title.
New UFC Women's Flyweight Champion
Shevchenko won the vacant UFC Women's Flyweight Championship on Saturday, defeating Joanna Jedrzejczyk via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) at UFC 231 in Toronto.
ANALYSIS
Shevchenko is ridiculous. Facing one of the best female mixed martial artists of all time, Valentina rolled over her like it was nothing. She was credited with five takedowns landed on 16 attempts. It's not as if Valentina was looking to get this fight to the mat, but she was so much bigger and stronger than Joanna that dragging her to the mat made the most sense. She dominated in every position and made Joanna look like a novice. If you want to nitpick, you could say that Shevchenko's cardio weakened in Rounds 4 and 5. Still, it was a heck of an effort. It's going to take a monumental effort for another woman to take this belt from Valentina.
Shevchenko is ridiculous. Facing one of the best female mixed martial artists of all time, Valentina rolled over her like it was nothing. She was credited with five takedowns landed on 16 attempts. It's not as if Valentina was looking to get this fight to the mat, but she was so much bigger and stronger than Joanna that dragging her to the mat made the most sense. She dominated in every position and made Joanna look like a novice. If you want to nitpick, you could say that Shevchenko's cardio weakened in Rounds 4 and 5. Still, it was a heck of an effort. It's going to take a monumental effort for another woman to take this belt from Valentina.
Moving back to UFC 231
Shevchenko will now face Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 on Dec. 8 in Toronto for the vacant flyweight title, Brett Okamoto of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
It was announced last week that Shevchenko would instead fight Sijara Eubanks in the headline spot at UFC 230, but after much fan backlash, UFC brass eventually decided to go in another direction. They'll return Shevchenko to her originally-planned fight against Jedrzejczyk, which is an excellent battle of strikers that the fans want to see. Jedrzejczyk has rolled through every opponent in the strawweight division that was not named Rose Namajunas, but has been known to have tough weight cuts and will now look to take her career in another direction. Standing in her way is Shevchenko, who is slightly larger in stature after fighting at 135 pounds for the majority of her career. While Joanna typically thrives with volume, Shevchenko should be able to land less while doing an equal amount of damage. She'll also have greater mat skills in her back pocket entering fight night. It's an excellent matchup, and one that should be quite close in the sportsbooks.
It was announced last week that Shevchenko would instead fight Sijara Eubanks in the headline spot at UFC 230, but after much fan backlash, UFC brass eventually decided to go in another direction. They'll return Shevchenko to her originally-planned fight against Jedrzejczyk, which is an excellent battle of strikers that the fans want to see. Jedrzejczyk has rolled through every opponent in the strawweight division that was not named Rose Namajunas, but has been known to have tough weight cuts and will now look to take her career in another direction. Standing in her way is Shevchenko, who is slightly larger in stature after fighting at 135 pounds for the majority of her career. While Joanna typically thrives with volume, Shevchenko should be able to land less while doing an equal amount of damage. She'll also have greater mat skills in her back pocket entering fight night. It's an excellent matchup, and one that should be quite close in the sportsbooks.