Valentina vows revenge
Valentina Shevchenko: “It doesn’t mean anything. [She] almost was beaten in the third round. [At UFC 213], it will be done.”
Valentina Shevchenko lost a unanimous decision to Amanda Nunes at UFC 196 on March 5, 2016. However, many onlookers thought the outcome would have been different in a five round fight. Shevchenko appeared to employ classic Muay Thai strategy, feeling out the opponent in the first round. In Muay Thai that makes sense as gambling drives the sport, and it starts once the fighters have felt each other out. In a three-round MMA fight, dropping the first round is disastrous.
Nunes then beat Miesha Tate for the women’s bantamweight championship, and defended it successfully against Ronda Rousey. Shevchenko bounced back from the Nunes loss by decisioning Holly Holm and then finishing Julianna Peña with a performance bonus winning armbar.
The two now have a rematch scheduled for the main event of UFC 213 on July 8, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shevchenko promises a different result than UFC 196.
It was very good and a very lucky fight, Shevchenko said to MMAjunkie. It doesn’t mean anything. [She] almost was beaten in the third round. [At UFC 213], it will be done.
The 8th of July, it will be done. It’s only excuses. You have [until the fight] to speak, and it will be done. You will try, but it doesn’t guarantee it will happen.
Nunes disagrees that a five-round championship fight would have played out differently.
I’m the champion for a reason – I will show, said Nunes. If this fight would have been five rounds, I would have beat her four to one. It would have been the same.