The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the United Center in Chicago, Illinois tonight for UFC on FOX 20: “Holm vs Shevchenko.” The event was headlined by a women’s bantamweight bout between former UFC champ Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm and Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko.
In tonight’s lightweight co-main event, Edson Barboza battled Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez. Francis “The Predator” Ngannou faced Bojan Mihajlović in a heavyweight bout, and Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig took on Kailin Curran at strawweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the main card.
Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko vs Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm
Round 1:
Shevchenko scored with inside-leg kicks and lead right hooks in the opening minute. Holm countered with a left cross that briefly dropped Shevchenko against the base of the cage. Shevchenko stood and landed two more right hooks. Holm replied with kicks that missed. Both women landed body kicks and Shevchenko threw Holm to the mat. Holm got back to her feet against the cage and the fighters traded knees in a clinch. Close round. 10-9 Holm due to the knockdown.
Round 2:
The second round began with an exchange of cautious kicks and single punches. Shevchenko attempted a body-lock takedown, but Holm defended well. Shevchenko knocked her off-balance with a right hook behind the ear. A right hook landed for Shevchenko and she followed with a spinning backfist that was blocked. Shevchenko cracked Holm with a right hook and a left cross. She targeted Holm’s lead leg with kicks and landed another combination. She countered a body kick with a spinning backfist late in the round. 10-9 Shevchenko.
Round 3:
Shevchenko kicked at Holm’s lead leg again in round three and she narrowly missed with a spinning backfist. A counter right hook and a leg kick scored for Shevchenko, who quickly took Holm down. A cut opened above Holm’s right eye, but she battled back to her feet. Shevchenko secured another takedown into half-guard and landed short punches. She postured up with elbows in the final minute. 10-9 Shevchenko.
Round 4:
Holm jabbed in round two and Shevchenko countered with right hooks and a combination. She just missed with a spinning wheel kick but landed a one-two soon after. Shevchenko scored with more leg kicks, but she failed badly with a lunging takedown attempt. Holm fought off a clinch and landed a kick to the body. She ate a right hand in return and Shevchenko mixed things up with kick-punch combos. 10-9 Shevchenko.
Round 5:
Holm came up short with a series of kicks in the final round and Shevchenko snapped her head back with a Superman Punch. She connected with a leg kick and a right hook, and just missed with a spinning back kick to the body. Holm stuffed a takedown, but Shevchenko landed a spinning wheel kick to the chin. Holm appeared to be unfazed and the fighters traded body kicks. Shevchenko darted in and out with left and right hooks. Holm scored with a solid body kick, but Shevchenko briefly wobbled her with a counter right hand. She flurried with punches and landed a leg kick before the bell. 10-9 Shevchenko.
Winner: Valentina Shevchenko by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) after five rounds. She improves to 14-2-0.
Edson Barboza vs Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez
Round 1:
Barboza opened the action with lead left hooks and hard leg kicks. He stuffed a takedown and landed a combination. Melendez scored with a nice left hook and he followed with a knee after catching a body kick. Barboza broke free and threw more leg kicks. Melendez backed him up with a right cross and followed with a flurry in close. Barboza blasted Melendez with a one-two and a right hook, followed by a spinning back kick to the body. He jumped in with a knee at the bell. 10-9 Barboza.
Round 2:
Melendez landed right hands and shot in for a takedown in round two, but Barboza easily shrugged him off and kicked at his legs on the ground. Melendez returned to his feet and Barboza dropped him with two leg kicks. Barboza teed off with kicks to Melendez’s liver and lead leg, but Melendez knocked him down with a counter right hook. Barboza stood and the fighters traded power punches. Barboza caught a body kick and took Melendez down. He finished the round with hard punches and hammerfists from the top. 10-9 Barboza.
Round 3:
Barboza chopped away at Melendez’s damaged left leg with kicks in round three, which forced Melendez to switch stances. Barboza landed more hard leg kicks as the round progressed and he fought off a takedown attempt. Little transpired in the final three minutes, but Barboza landed a one-two late in the round. 10-9 Barboza.
Winner: Edson Barboza by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 18-4-0.
Francis “The Predator” Ngannou vs Bojan Mihajlović
Round 1:
Mihajlović tried to close the distance in the opening minute and missed with wild haymakers. Ngannou cracked him with two right hands and dropped him with a left. Mihajlović rolled to his side and covered up as Ngannou rained down punches and hammerfists for the stoppage.
Winner: Francis Ngannou by TKO (Punches) at 1:34 of round one. He improves to 8-1-0.
Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig vs Kailin Curran
Round 1:
Both women landed jabs in the opening seconds and Herrig landed a combination. She followed with kicks to the body and took Curran down after catching a high kick. Curran tried to get back to her feet, but Herrig hopped on her back and locked on a tight rear-naked choke. She used it to drag Curran back down to the mat and maintained the choke until Curran finally tapped out.
Winner: Felice Herrig by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:59 of round one. She improves to 11-6-0.
Undercard Fights:
– Eddie Wineland defeated Frankie Saenz by TKO (Punches) at 1:54 of round three. He improves to 22-11-1 with the win.
– Darren “The Damage” Elkins defeated Godofredo “Pepey” Castro by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27) after three rounds. He improves to 21-5-0 with the win.
– Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman defeated Alexander “Thunder of the North” Yakovlev by Unanimous Decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-25) after three rounds. He improves to 8-1-0 with the win.
– Michel “Trator” Prazeres defeated J.C. “Superstar” Cottrell by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 20-2-0 with the win.
– Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira defeated James “Moonwalker” Moontasri by Unanimous Decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-26) after three rounds. He improves to 14-4-1, 1 NC with the win.
– Jason “The Kid” Knight defeated Jim “The Beast” Alers by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 14-2-0 with the win.
– Luis Henrique “KLB” Barbosa de Oliveira defeated Dmitry “The Lifeguard” Smoliakov by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:58 of round two. He improves to 9-2-0, 1 NC with the win.