When she faced former champ Holly Holm four months after losing to Nunes, it was another deliberately slow start as Shevchenko used early kicks to find her range. But her vastly underrated grappling is what secured Shevchenko this title shot. Shevchenko is known, understandably, for a world-class combination of Muay Thai, kickboxing and taekwondo. Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports The challenger Valentina Shevchenko has succeeded in each of her past two fights by successfully implementing a similar plan to the one she took into her first fight with Amanda Nunes. She decimated Rousey in 48 seconds, landing 27 strikes while absorbing just seven. From the stare-down until the knockout finish, Nunes' confidence and composure never wavered. In Rousey's return fight at UFC 207, Nunes used simple, precise one-two combos again to dominate the once-untouchable champion. Nunes finished with a 40-3 striking advantage to capture the women's bantamweight belt. Nunes calmly took her downed opponent's back, sunk in both hooks and tapped Tate with a rear-naked choke. As the challenger at UFC 200, "The Lioness" stunned Tate with repeated jabs and crosses. The striking defense for Tate and Rousey could only be described as poor. Neither title fight lasted four minutes, as Nunes' long, snappy jabs were too much for both of her opponents. But there was far less to be learned in knockouts of then-champion Tate and then-legend Ronda Rousey than there was to see in her decision win over Shevchenko. AP Photo/John Locher The championĪll cards on the table, I've been bullish on Nunes for some time. Amanda Nunes' jabs were the key to her quick victory over Ronda Rousey, left, at UFC 207. The cards were read in Nunes' favor - to no one's surprise - 29-28, 29-27, 29-27, setting her up with a title shot against soon-to-be champion Miesha Tate. Though the Brazilian ultimately returned to her feet, Shevchenko was visibly more effective with her striking, claiming her only round. The Kyrgyz punished Nunes' half-hearted takedown attempt and landed in side control, a takedown in her only attempt. The third round revealed Shevchenko's significant cardio advantage. Two judges scored the lopsided round 10-8. Nunes used a heavy top game to open up her opponent, nearly securing a rear-naked choke finish. "The Lioness" instantly returned the favor, landing in Shevchenko's half-guard. The fight turned one minute into the second round with a clever trip by Shevchenko, although Nunes quickly regained her footing.
0 kommentar(er)
