Last night (Jan. 28) No. 1 ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s bantamweight Valentina Shevchenko battled Julianna Pena in a potential title eliminator. “Bullet” was taken down in the second round, but forced a submission due to an armbar. The finish earned her a “Performance of the Night” bonus.
This came as a surprise to many as Shevchenko is known for her stand-up. Speaking to the media (via MMAFighting.com), the Russian-Peruvian has much more in her arsenal:
“Like I said before, I’m martial artist. I’m not only striker like people said. I’m a complete fighter — an MMA fighter.”
The win should make Shevchenko next in line for Amanda Nunes’ 135-pound gold. It may take a while as Nunes hopes to face the winner of the inaugural women’s featherweight title bout at UFC 208.
When Shevchenko and Nunes eventually trade leather again, “Bullet” believes she will turn in a better performance. In their first encounter, “The Lioness” bloodied up Shevchenko a bit and took the first two rounds. Nunes began to fade in the third and “Bullet” ended up winning the final round, but it was too little too late.
Shevchenko’s strong showing in the final round left fans and analysts wondering what would’ve happened if there were two more rounds. Shevchenko doesn’t think the rematch will yield the same outcome.
“I know this will be a totally different fight with a totally different result. How I said before, Amanda won not because she was stronger than me, it was because maybe I gave her a little bit of a reason to take this victory. I know for sure I was training hard. Every fight makes me much stronger and much stronger.”
With her win over Pena, Shevchenko has now gone 7-1 in her last eight bouts. If “Bullet” ends up facing Nunes next, it will be her first title opportunity in the UFC.
