Report: Shevchenko vs. Eye Official For UFC 238

A UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship clash between reigning gold holder Valentina ‘Bullet’ Shevchenko and #1 ranked contender and recent division star Jessica ‘Evil’ Eye has officially landed on UFC 238.

The Chicago card takes place on June 8th from the United Centre but it is yet to be determined if Shevchenko and Eye headline the event.

Shevchenko secured the title back at UFC 231 in a vacant title bout with former foe Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a largely one sided unanimous decision, while challenger Jessica Eye established her title tilt in a less dominant decision victory over Katlyn Chookagian.

After an unsuccessful siege of the 135lbs crown against stalwart Amanda Nunes back in 2017, Valentina found instant success a Flyweight. Paired in a largely debated scheduling with Priscila Cachoeira, the Kyrgyzstan native exacted a brutally one sided beat down leaving the Brazilian cover in claret before picking up a rear-naked choke victory in the second round. 2-0 heading into her trilogy with former Strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk, the similarly technical striker Shevchenko outpointed Joanna throughout their five round affair on her way to her premier promotion championship reign. Shevchenko may have clinched the title sooner on in her Flyweight rebirth but an initial clash between herself and inaugural champion Nicco Montano fell out back at UFC 228 resulting in the vacant title match.

Perennial contender for sometime now a division lower, former Bantamweight prospect Jessica Eye has earned her first title shot in her six year stint in the organisation. We’ve also witnessed an incredible turn around in Eye’s fortunes since her move to 125lbs, ending an astonishing four fight slide last year to find herself riding a three fight win streak heading into this championship pairing. Facing the stiffest of competition at Bantamweight, Eye dropped defeats to former world champion Miesha Tate, title challengers Bethe Correia and Sara McMann and TUF 18 victor Julianna Pena, although she was severely undersized for the division. The Ohio native seen a successful return to Flyweight at the start of 2018, picking up victories over Kalindra Faria, Jessica-Rose Clark and the aforementioned Chookagian.

UFC 238 takes place on June 8th from the United Centre in Chicago, Illinois, with two potential title eliminators announced recently. The Strawweight division will witness a shake up this summer with Rose Namajunas attempting to defend her throne against Jéssica Andrade in hostile Brazil, and either striker’s opponent will be determined after UFC 238, as Tatiana Suarez meets Nina Ansaroff. On the other hand, whoever leaves Chicago with the Flyweight crown is expected to meet the winner of Katlyn Chookagian and Joanne Calderwood’s clash.

Betting: UFC 231 Predictions

It is nearly time for the fights and we have last minute predictions to help you beat the bookies.

Max Holloway vs Brian Ortega

This fight was originally scheduled for UFC 226, a whole five months ago, however due to extremely concerning health risks for Holloway, he was pulled from the fight, which itself was ultimately scrapped when an opponent was not found to face Ortega.

While this itself on paper may seem like a traditional and cliche “Striker vs Grappler” matchup, but both fighters have so much more than that.

Holloway is a rangey striker with quick movement and a ferocious pace. He aims to get in and out of the pocket and land multiple punch combinations while taking little damage. He is also a very good grappler in his own right, scoring submission wins over Cub Swanson and Andre Fili. Submitting him will not be an easy task, even for someone of Ortega’s ability. Holloway will aim to use his range to stay out of any grappling exchanges and his pace to wear down Ortega.

Ortega is an incredibly gifted BJJ specialist with 4 of his 6 official UFC wins coming via submission. Ortega also possesses power which is an underrated aspect of his game. While he may not be the most technically gifted striker, he is still capable of putting guys away on the feet, which we saw with a brutal uppercut against Frankie Edgar, or his flying knee finish over Clay Guida with under 30 seconds left in the fight. His route to victory is simple. Look for the submission at all costs. He will be patient and wait for his opportunity like he did against Cub Swanson.

The biggest question over Max Holloway is whether he is fully fit after his long layoff and if previous weight cut issues will come into play. If they do, it could be a seriously bad night for him. That being said, I believe he will be fit. I believe he will have the striking, speed and footwork advantages in this fight as well the ability to keep a high pace for the entire fight. I believe he avoids the clinch and outboxes Ortega until he gets the win.

Official prediction: Max Holloway def. Brian Ortega via TKO (Round 4)

Valentina Shevchenko vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Look, in my opinion, the odds in his fight are crazy – I certainly make ‘The Bullet” the favourite but I certainly do not believe that she should be as much as a -400 favourite.

While the size difference between the fighters may play a part, I don’t believe Joanna will be undersized by any means. Both are incredible strikers and will have moments in the fight. I believe this fight will remain on the feet for the vast majority of the contest and will simply come down to who will get their opponents respect more often.

While I believe that Joanna is as good of an MMA striker as Shevchenko, I feel that the power of Valentina will just be able to keep Joanna back. Whether the finish will come, that’s hard to tell but unless Joanna has the power to make Schevchenko think twice it could be a bad night.

Joanna needs to be on her A+ game and make essentially no mistakes. She needs to put on a master class. Valentina will have the grappling advantage also and may look for a takedown, but as mentioned I think that she may have a decent power advantage and will look to back up Joanna and land combinations on her way to a unanimous decision victory.

Official prediction: Valentina Shevchenko def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk via DEC

Other main card picks:

• Gunnar Nelson def Charles Oliveria via TKO (Round 3)
• Hakeem Dawodu def. Kyle Bochniak via TKO (Round 2).
• Thiago Santos def. Jimi Manuwa via TKO (Round 2).

Fox Sports 1 Prelims

• Claudia Gadelha def. Nina Ansaroff via SUB (Round 2)
• Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Gilbert Burns via SUB (Round 3)
• Kaitlyn Chookogian def. Jessica Eye via. decision
• Elias Theodorou def. Eryk Anders via decision.

Fight Pass Prelims

• Brad Katona def. Matt Lopez via decision.
• Chad Laprise def. Dhiego Lima via decision.
• Carlos Diego Ferreira def. Kyle Nelson via SUB (Round 2).
• Aleksander Rakic def. Devin Clarke via TKO (Round 3)

 

 

Live Results: UFC 231 – Holloway vs. Ortega

8th December 2018, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada – UFC 231 is set to go down and has been highly anticipated for the technical quality of the main card.

In the main event, featherweight champion Max Holloway (19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) will defend his featherweight title, as well as his 12 fight winning streak against unbeaten challenger Brian Ortega (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC). Holloway, who faced questions about whether he would make weight heading into the event, was 144.5 pounds. Ortega was a quarter-pound more at 144.75.

In the co-feature, Valentina Shevchenko (15-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) takes on former women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) for the vacant women’s flyweight title. Shevchenko was well under at 1235.5 pounds, as was Jedrzejczyk at 123.75.

MMAMotion will be live on Twitter with all of the play-by-plays and the results will be updated below as they happen. Give us a follow and join the conversation.

MAIN CARD

• Max Holloway def. Brian Ortega via Doctor’s Stoppage (Round 4)
• Valentina Shevchenko def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk via Unanimous Decision (49-46 x3)
• Gunnar Nelson def. Alex Oliveira via 2nd Round Submission (RNC)
• Hakeem Dawodu vs. Kyle Bochniak via Split Decision (29-28 x2)
• Thiago Santos def. Jimi Manuwa via 2nd Round KO

UNDERCARD

• Nina Ansaroff def. Claudia Gadelha via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
• Jessica Eye def. Katlyn Chookagian via Split Decision (29-28 x2)
• Elias Theodorou def. Eryk Anders via (Split Decision 29-28 x2)
•  Gilbert Burns def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
• Aleksandar Rakic def. Devin Clark via Round 1 TKO
• Brad Katona def. Matthew Lopez via Third Round Submission (RNC)
• Dhiego Lima def. Chad Laprise via Round 1 KO
• Diego Ferreira def. Kyle Nelson via Round 2 TKO

Opinion: Shevchenko vs. Jedrzejczyk – What Will Go Down?

Our first of two title fights this weekend at UFC 231 in Toronto, sees two of the most technical strikers in women’s mixed martial arts history clash for the vacant flyweight title as former professional Muay Thai foes, Valentina Shevchenko and Joanna Jedrzejczyk meet.

Shevchenko acts as the welcoming party for Joanna who makes her division return after two straight defeats to Rose Namajunas at strawweight and a decision win over Tecia Torres, while ‘Bullet’ Valentina made the drop to flyweight from bantamweight after a rematch loss to Amanda Nunes. Kyrgyzstan native Shevchenko was tipped to reign supreme at 125lbs and exacted a brutal first and second round beat down on Brazilian newcomer Priscila Cachoeira at the beginning of the year to earn an immediate title shot.

Despite this being the first time these women have clashed in mixed-martial arts competition, they are more than familiar with each other’s striking pedigree – Shevchenko picked up two decision victories over the Pole during they’re Muay Thai careers back in 2007.

A seamless transition to MMA displayed Valentina’s incredible striking and distance management to a wider audience and earmarked her as a potential world champion. Notable wins against the likes of former Bantamweight queen Holly Holm, top contender Julianna Pena and a one-sided victory over Cachoeira flaunted leaps in her grappling. The Judo black belt scored multiple takedowns over Holm and submitted both Pena and Priscila and landed her trademark counter right hand at will, something the more aggressive volume striker Jedrzejczyk must be wary of.

Before her first-round knockout defeat to ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas back in 2017, Joanna was regarded as one of the most formidable forces in Octagon history. An undefeated 14-0 pressure fighter who had dispatched each and every one of her opponents with relative ease, this undefeated record led to some considerable bravado and almost a feeling of invincibility, something Namajunas exploited.

On paper, Joanna was expected to steamroll Rose but was dropped twice in the exchanges of a frantic paced first round and in a mere three minutes, her Strawweight throne was over. A redemption story followed a much more collected Jedrzejczyk into her rematch with ‘Thug’ Rose and despite a much-improved showing, she lost a close decision to Namajunas. An incensed Joanna was convinced she regained her crown and disagreed with the judge’s unanimous decision ruling. Tecia Torres was next in line for Jedrzejczyk and despite some cagey exchanges, Joanna scored a three round decision win.

Olsztyn native Jedrzejczyk has made the 125lbs limit before, amassing a 5-0 record at the weight and a return to Flyweight will more than likely benefit Joanna, with her well-documented struggle to meet the Strawweight limit leaving her compromised, although it would be hard to notice given her dominance over the division for such a long time.

Shevchenko is the better grappler in this one but Joanna has been tested before in wrestling exchanges and has come out on top. Joanna’s pace pushing, volume striking style could bare the key to Valentina’s success with her distance control and counter striking ability second to none. Expect a highly significant and total strike count come to the culmination of this one with Valentina landing quickest.

Valentina Shevchenko via unanimous decision. 

Report: MMA Twitter reacts to confirmation of UFC 230 main event

UFC 230 finally has a main event and it would be fair to say that it’s not exactly what we were expecting.

The promotion’s marquee event at Madison Square Garden is set to be headlined by a flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Sijara Eubanks.

Breaking News: Flyweight title clash between Shevchenko and Eubanks to headline UFC 230

In what can only be described as a shocking turn of events, one of the UFC’S biggest cards of the year is set to be headlined by a flyweight title fight with Valentina Schevchenko taking on Sijara Eubanks for the vacant 125lb belt.

Report: Joanna Jedrzejczyk will face Valentina Shevchenko for flyweight title

While Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov deservedly took center stage in New York last night with the Irishman stealing the majority of the headlines, following the event Dana White dropped a bombshell, announcing the addition of a huge flyweight title contest to UFC 231.

Opinion: Who will face Valentina Shevchenko for the vacant UFC flyweight title?

As a result of Nicco Montaño’s weight cut related medical problems forcing the TUF winner to withdraw from her planed UFC 228 title defense against Valentina Shevchenko, the UFC flyweight division once again finds itself in search of a champion.

With Dana White confirming that number one contender Shevchenko is guaranteed a shot at the vacant 125lb gold, one question remains – who will the former bantamweight title challenger face for the belt?

There are a number of viable options open to White and the UFC. I’ve taken a look at the shortlist of potential suitors below.

Report: Upset Valentina Shevchenko “not surprised” by Nicco Montaño’s withdrawal, believes this “was her plan from the beginning”

Following the dramatic news that UFC flyweight champion Nicco Montaño () had been transported to a local hospital and wouldn’t be defending her title at UFC 228, her opponent, Valentina Shevchenko (15-3-0) has taken to social media to express her total lack of surprise.

News: Nicco Montaño’s team releases statement after she is pulled from UFC 228 title fight

The UFC women’s flyweight champion will not compete Saturday at UFC 228 in a scheduled title fight with Valentina Shevchenko after she was taken to the hospital Friday morning due to kidney issues, per her team.