5 reasons why Valentina Shevchenko can beat Amanda Nunes in potential trilogy bout
Valentina Shevchenko is the reigning UFC women's flyweight champion. After defeating Taila Santos at UFC 275, 'Bullet' broke the UFC women's title defense record once held by the legendary Ronda Rousey. Throughout her career, Shevchenko has been nearly flawless, only suffering losses against Liz Carmouche [via doctor stoppage] and Amanda Nunes, the only UFC women's double champion ever.
While Valentina Shevchenko avenged her initial loss to Carmouche, the former Muay Thai champion never managed to redeem herself against 'The Lioness.' Shevchenko has faced her Brazilian rival twice. Though both bouts were close, Nunes bested her on the scorecard on both occasions.
In the years that followed, much was made of their closely-contested second matchup, with many arguing that Shevchenko might have done enough to claim victory despite the official loss on her record.
Given the sheer dominance shown by both women in their respective divisions since, fan interest in a trilogy bout has resurged. Even UFC President Dana White dismissed his past disinterest in the matchup.
With both Shevchenko and Nunes on the verge of cleaning out their divisions, a lack of competition renders a trilogy bout inevitable. While 'The Lioness' has defeated 'Bullet' twice now, Valentina Shevchenko possesses the tools necessary to defeat her longtime rival.
#5. Valentina Shevchenko's low-kick defense
Valentina Shevchenko is a counter-striker by trade, and like all counter-strikers, she operates from a range that's optimized for her unique style of engagement. She maintains a long distance that enables her to easily slide her legs out of her opponent's leg reach, causing her foes to kick ahead of themselves whenever they attempt to low kick her.
"It’s kind of like what I want (to) be as a martial artist: untouchable. This is kind of next level of martial artist." - Valentina Shevchenko
"The bullet" has only absorbed 92 strikes in her last 5 fights. https://t.co/7JvBL6QYJg
Amanda Nunes' greatest range weapons are her low kicks, which she often uses to destabilize her opponent's stance. Once her foes are forced to reset their stances, Nunes pounces on them with crisp combinations.
However, Valentina Shevchenko's low-kick defense will not only cause Nunes to kick ahead of herself and miss, but due to the amount of follow-through from Nunes' kicks, the momentum will cause her to kick herself out of stance. Thus, while she's forced to retract her kicking leg back into position, she'll be exposed to Shevchenko's counters.