Valentina Shevchenko’s win over Julianna Peña has aged like fine wine.
The two-time UFC women’s flyweight champion returns this Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 315. Valentina Shevchenko begins her second title reign in Montreal against #1 contender Manon Fiorot after shutting out rival Alexa Grasso at UFC 306 to reclaim her belt.
Across two weight classes, Shevchenko’s been fighting the best girls in the world for almost 10 years now. ‘Bullet’ nearly took out the consensus greatest female fighter of all time in Amanda Nunes on two occasions where she lost both times by closely-contested decision.
Between those fights, Shevchenko got her hand raised against a former and future champion to cement herself as the undeniable #1 contender at 135lbs.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
In Jan. 2017, Shevchenko would defend her top spot in the division against current women’s bantamweight champion, UFC 316 co-headliner Julianna Peña after defeating former champ Holly Holm in her first five-round main event.
Ranked #2 in the world, ‘The Ultimate Fighter 18’ winner Peña was riding a four-fight winstreak with her latest victory over former title challenger Cat Zingano.
Thought as a striker vs. grappler matchup, it was Shevchenko who took Peña down with ease—twice.
Peña did land some good knees in the clinch, having a better second round with her own takedown and top control.
Racking up a few minutes of control time, Peña attempted to ground and pound while Shevchenko quickly transitioned for an armbar attempt from bottom guard.
With 40 seconds on the clock, Shevchenko expertly snatched Peña’s arm with ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ trying to roll out to escape. Within seconds of the scramble and her arm extended, Pena was forced to tap out for her first submission loss.
Julianna Peña is the last fighter to defeat Amanda Nunes.
Following her win over the UFC 316 co-headliner, Valentina Shevchenko was greeted by former foe and then champ Amanda Nunes inside the Octagon.
The two exchanged some words over a highly-anticipated rematch and faced off for the cameras.
Shevchenko met Nunes in her final non-title fight at UFC 196 where the Kyrgyzstan-native lost in a competitive decision. They’d rematch years later at UFC 215 with Nunes’ bantamweight title on the line.
Shevchenko wouldn’t have any luck with the judges the second time around as she lost a controversial split decision when they fought in Sep. 2017. Nunes and Shevchenko were neck-and-neck in their rematch with ‘The Lioness’ defending her title in a close call.
The current champion of the weight class below, Valentina Shevchenko is the #1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the UFC with Amanda Nunes retired for the last two years. Though, all signs point to a Nunes’ comeback against the winner of Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison at UFC 316.
Amanda NunesJulianna PeñaUFCUFC 315UFC 316Valentina Shevchenko
