Multi-time Muay Thai champion Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko earned the biggest victory of her MMA career in tonight’s UFC on FOX 20 main event in Chicago, Illinois. Shevchenko scored a convincing Unanimous Decision win over former UFC champion Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm.
Save for a brief knockdown in the opening round, Shevchenko was in control of the five-round bout against Holm from start to finish, and her takedowns and counterstriking propelled her to victory. In strawweight action tonight, hometown star Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig quickly submitted Kailin Curran.
Shevchenko (14-2-0) started strong with leg kicks and lead right hooks that appeared to throw Holm (10-2-0) off of her game in round one, but Holm pressed forward and connected with a hard left cross that sent Shevchenko careening to the canvas against the base of the cage. Shevchenko immediately returned to her feet and secured a brief takedown after an exchange of body kicks, but she could not keep Holm down for long and Holm’s knockdown was the most decisive moment in the round.
From that point forward, momentum shifted in favour of Shevchenko, and she picked Holm apart with leg kicks, lunging hooks and spinning attacks. She repeatedly scored with counter right hooks as Holm advanced forward, and the strikes kept the former champion guessing. Shevchenko secured two more takedowns in round three and she battered Holm with elbows from top position. The final two rounds were contested on the feet, and Shevchenko’s ability to mix up her strikes with kick-punch combos and spinning backfists allowed her to land at will.
After 25 minutes of action, the bout went to the scorecards and all three judges saw the fight 49-46 for Shevchenko, who campaigned for a rematch against reigning UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda “Lioness” Nunes. Shevchenko dropped a three-round decision to Nunes at UFC 196 in March, and Nunes subsequently captured UFC title gold by submitting Miesha “Cupcake” Tate at UFC 200.
Winner: Valentina Shevchenko by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) after five rounds. She improves to 14-2-0.
In the opening fight on tonight’s FOX-televised main card, Herrig (11-6-0) thrilled her hometown audience with a quick and impressive submission win over Hawaiian prospect Curran (4-3-0). The fight began with an exchange of jabs and body kicks, and Herrig took Curran down after catching a high kick. Curran attempted to scramble back to her feet, but Herrig effortlessly took her back and locked on a rear-naked choke. Curran tried to fight the hold, but she could not escape and reluctantly tapped out.
Tonight’s victory was a crucial one for Herrig, who took more than a year away from fighting due to physical and mental fatigue. She appeared to be in the best shape of her fighting career in her return bout tonight and put forth arguably her most impressive performance to date.
Winner: Felice Herrig by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:59 of round one. She improves to 11-6-0.
(Photo Credit: UFC)