She’s always been the hammer, never the nail - Vanessa Demopoulos says Taila Santos fight showed how Valentina Shevchenko performs in adversity

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Vanessa Demopoulos (left), Taila Santos vs. Valentina Shevchenko (right) [Images courtesy @lilmonsterdemo and @ufc on Instagram]

According to Vanessa Demopoulos, Valentina Shevchenko showed a new side to her game in her fight with Taila Santos at UFC 275. The champion had to overcome adversity that she'd never faced in her reign in the 125lbs division.

During her interview with Combat Sports on Fanatics View, ‘Lil Monster’ stated that she felt Santos won the fight but an argument could be made for the other side too. Demopoulos was also impressed with the spirit the reigning champion showed in the title bout:

“And it was interesting to see Valentina get into such tough positions, 'cause I think that it was like a big discussion previous, like prior to that fight happening, where it was like we don’t know what's gonna happen with Valentina. She’s always been the hammer in every situation in every fight. And she’s never been the nail. And I feel like in that fight she really had to overcome a lot of adversity and even still towards the later rounds like she proved why she’s the champion.”

Watch Vanessa Demopoulos talk about Valentina Shevchenko in the video below:

The UFC 275 co-main event was a women’s flyweight championship fight between ‘Bullet’ and Santos. It was a tough battle for Valentina Shevchenko as the Brazilian was controlling the course of events in the first three rounds with her takedowns and submission attempts.

Shevchenko was able to weather the storm and turn the tide in the last two rounds. After the fight, many expected the Brazilian to get the judges' decision, but two out of the three judges gave the verdict to the champion.

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Taila Santos wants a rematch with Valentina Shevchenko

After making her way back to Brazil, Santos was interviewed by MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. During the conversation, the Brazilian fighter admitted that she watched the bout but didn't analyze it. According to her, Shevchenko is not as scary as people think:

“Everybody sees her as this monster, the boogeyman. After I fought her, I could see she’s not all that, you know? She’s very tough and intelligent, of course, but nothing abnormal. I felt very confident. I didn’t feel any supernatural power. The way people talked about this woman, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I won’t be able to take her down.’ I imposed my takedowns and managed to do everything I wanted. I expected [more from her]. It was easy to [take her down] and get her back. I expected it to be tougher.” [Translation from Portuguese courtesy of MMA Fighting]

Santos will undergo surgery to fix her broken orbital bone and it’s not certain when she’ll return to action. One thing is for sure – she wants to go after Shevchenko:

“There’s no point fighting someone else [in a tune-up fight] if I’ve already fought her. I had never fought five rounds before and went straight for the trial by fire, straight in a five-round fight with the best in the world, the champion. I’m tested already.” [ Translation from Portuguese courtesy of MMA Fighting]

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