Amanda Nunes Defends The BW Belt And Remains The Champion
In a razor close split decision at the UFC 215 main event Amanda Nunes retains her title and defeats Valentina Shevchenko. For me the fight was terribly disappointing. I'm a huge Valentina fan and I really expected her to get it done at 215, but she didn't bring the fight to Nunes honestly.
Rounds 1, 2 & 3 all could've gone either way, which is a really terrible position to be in for a challenger. Champions tend to win close title fights, It's up to the challenger to make the statement in my opinion. Both Nunes and Shevchenko must've known the fight was ridiculously hard to score for the first 3 rounds.
Both fighters picked up the pace in round 4 but once again there was no clear winner. 2 judges scored the round for Shevchenko and one for Nunes. Here we are at the final round and the fight is still a complete toss up, neither fighter had clearly one a round yet except maybe round 1 for Nunes.
Round 5, the fighters meet in the middle and now we see some action. Nunes rushes a double leg but fails. Late Shevchenko with a takedown attempt of her own fails a throw and winds up on her knees with Nunes on her back. Nunes doesn't get her hooks in and Shevchenko gets up. In the final minute Nunes takes Shevchenko down but doesn't really land anything, Shevchenko throws several strikes from the bottom although it is too little too late. Nunes wins by split decision.
My Thoughts
The strategy should never be to lose rounds in hopes of winning later rounds. Shevchenko did nothing in the first round, and did little in the next 2 rounds. What happened in round 4 should've happened in round 2 and round 5, although I hate to say it, went to Nunes. It's true Nunes did little damage with her takedowns but she did score them, and it's not like Shevchenko was starching Nunes on the feet in round 5.
It's too bad, I felt Shevchenko was the best candidate to beat Nunes. With her biggest threat beaten I see Nunes holding on to the belt a little while longer...
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