FIGHT TIME
Saturday, July 8th
7:00 PM PST
10:00 PM EST
Las Vegas, Nevada
An Assassin Named 'Bullet' Seeks the Head of a 'Lioness'...
Valentina 'Bullet' Shevchenko:
She is the Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian Muay Thai stylist representing both Russia and Peru. Valentina is the greatest woman's muay stylist in the UFC (and plausibly the world) with multiple wins over pound for pound straw weight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk. Her demolition of Holly Holm and eventual contender Juliana Pena have proven Valentina's worth as both a striker and grappler.
Mixing up submission finishes and lethal striking prowess, 'Bullet' maintains a rhythm and becomes a continuous problem everywhere the fight goes. Her upcoming opponent is a recent foe, in fact, so she will be well equipped for the offerings of the current bantamweight queen. Her style matches up well with anyone in the division, and she has shown to be an absolutely dominant force in the UFC promotion. Expect a determined and Valentina to execute a beautiful dance come main event time, and if she emerges victorious, she will easily be considered as one of the greatest women's fighters of all time!
Amanda 'Lioness' Nunes:
An unabashed champion whom has become very vocal about defending her belt. She is the one who eradicated Queen Rousey in a contest of shock and awe. Nunes has accumulated impressive victories and early finishes over former champions and current top 5 contenders. Summer of last year brought us the debut of Nunes as a challenger, and she was able to conquer the current champ at that time in Meisha Tate within 3 minutes of the first round.
A durable Olympic wrestler like Sara McMann is not deterred easy, but tasting the right hand of Nunes turtled her up and had her seeking a way out of the fight. Amanda is undoubtedly the hardest pure puncher in the 135-pound division, and her work at American Top Team has really improved her all-around technical boxing game. We will see a bloodthirsty lioness come Saturday, she will not let the crown go so easy...
Breakdown and Prediction:
A war of wills, these two women have scorned each other and now the wrath of hell befalls them both. Do not be fooled into thinking this fight is not main event worthy, it may be some of the best action we ever see. Nunes is a power slugger whom resorted to wrestling in her first matchup with Shevchenko, the Bullet seemed to have down all the reactionary timing to stay out of danger and land. The first two rounds Amanda avoided any danger of counters on the feet by taking Valentina down repeatedly and beating her down with brutal ground and pound. As a relative unknown at the time, it was quite impressive that Val had survived positions many other ladies hadn't.
The first two rounds were an absolute beatdown, and Valentina needed a finish to secure a win. Although the finish did not come, Val seemed to reverse a tired Nunes off a takedown attempt, and she nearly finished Amanda on the ground with a dosage of her own ground and pound. The exhaustion that had gotten to Amanda in prior fights had kicked it, lucky for her that was a 15-minute fight.
The complexion of this fight revolves around the training put in: has Amanda improved her attrition since the Cat Zingano loss and even the prior fight with Shevchenko? If her cardio fails her in the 3rd and 4th rounds, there will be no scorecards as Valentina will chip at her until she breaks. If the Bullet can fight as cleverly and craftily as she always does, she can win this fight. It will be a hefty task to avoid the power for a good margin of fight time, but Shevchenko is also a masterful judoka and can transition from grappling defense to striking offense seamlessly.
UFC 213 will decide two champions in one night, two titles that will be held for a long while. No one else is on the level of the fighters in the co-main and main event, these are divisional masterclasses, it will be a night to remember.
Prediction: Valentia Shevchenko: TKO Round 3
