Another women’s bantamweight favourite defeated, another title charge bulleted.
Valentina ‘Bullet’ Shevchenko produced the performance of her career to record a dominant, unanimous decision win over former champion Holly Holm in Chicago on Sunday night.
It seems that with every outing, the landscape of the 135lbs division shifts from one extreme to the next. The major players have won and then lost with Ronda Rousey losing to Holm, who then lost to Miesha Tate. Tate then lost the belt to Amanda Nunes and on the same evening at UFC 200 Cat Zingano lost to Julianna Pena.
Now, Holm has been beaten by Shevchenko – inflicting consecutive defeats for the first time in her professional combat career, a span of 50 fights over 14 years.
It’s impossible to predict the direction of the division but one thing is for sure, a once disparaged section is now stocked with talent and depth. And it is fascinating to watch it all unfold.
“I know there are competitive girls in this sport. I know there’s always somebody coming in,” said Holm. “The top five aren’t the same top five they were before. I feel like, especially this being the first women’s division in the UFC, everyone looks at that and says, ‘I want to fight there.’
Celebration with friends! #Texas #GraziaRestaurant pic.twitter.com/lQcB9CsAzq
— Valentina Shevchenko (@BulletValentina) July 25, 2016
“So they work hard. It has created a lot of competition in our weight class, which is good. I want to feel like I’m up against the best.”
Indeed, victory for Holm would have given her a shot at the newly-crowned Nunes or even the lucrative rematch with Rousey. Instead, it’s back to the drawing board.
Shevchenko recovered from a flash knockdown in the first stanza to take the next four in the main event of UFC on Fox 20 and put her in line to rematch champ Nunes.
Ultimately, she beat Holm at her own game, countering the longer and rangier fighter with beautifully-timed check hooks and wheel kicks. Holm could not get any sense of rhythm and her performance was emblematic of the division – unsettled.
