Shevchenko submitted Peña and will be champion Amanda's next challenger. (Photo: Getty Images)
Valentina Shevchenko will be the next challenger for the Brazilian's belt Amanda nunes. In the duel that defined the chance for the bantamweight belt, the Ukrainian based in Peru submitted Julianna Pena in the second round of the main fight of UFC Denver, held this Saturday (28), in the United States, and guaranteed the opportunity to fight for the title against the Brazilian, who was present at the Pepsi Center arena and went up to the octagon right after the fight and started a brief discussion with her next rival.
The duel will be a rematch, as Amanda beat Shevchenko in March 2016, at UFC 196. This was the second consecutive triumph for Valentina, who now has a record of 14 wins and two losses.
See too
The fight
Julianna started the fight with a clinch, taking her opponent to the fence, while throwing knees at the waist. However, Valentina surprised and applied a nice takedown, but Peña quickly got up and returned to the clinch, leaving the duel truncated and with little action. Shevchenko, once again, took down her opponent, this time landing on top and controlling the actions. From below, the TUF 18 champion locked her rival in guard and tried to get up, without success. In the final seconds, Peña swept and went for an armbar, but he didn't have time to work. At halftime, Julianna told the coaches that she had injured her right shoulder.
The second round started in the same way as the first, with Julianna clinching and trying to take the fight to the ground, but Shevchenko defended herself well against the attacks. After three minutes of little effectiveness, Penã finally managed to apply the takedown, and started working on his opponent's guard. Surprisingly, Valentina swept and applied a tight armbar, which forced Julianna to give up three taps.
Jorge Masvidal surprises and knocks out Donald Cerrone
Masvidal (right) knocked out Cerrone (left) in the second most important fight of the night. (Photo: Getty Images)
In the second most important fight of the show, Jorge masvidal withstood the initial pressure imposed by Donald Cerrone and surprised by knocking out 'Cowboy' in the first minute of the second round, scoring the most important victory of his career. Current number 12 in the welterweight category, Gamebred, who won his third in a row, is approaching the top 5, while Cerrone, 5th on the list, has his streak of four victories broken and suffered his first defeat in the division.
Encouraged by the crowd present, Cerrone began by firing a kick at the belt line, responded in kind by Masvidal. The two continued to focus on low kicks, but Cerrone surprised and landed a good straight right on Jorge, who returned with a good cross. Cerrone continued to be more forceful in his strikes, always using combinations of kicks and punches. In the final minute, Masvidal grew in the fight and connected a good sequence of blows on Cerrone, which was the knockdown. With 'Cowboy' groggy, Masvidal delivered a barrage of blows and only didn't end the fight because the bell sounded.
In the second round, Jorge took advantage of the good moment and didn't even give Cerrone a chance. Undeterred, he went up and delivered a powerful cross, which knocked his opponent down again. Cowboy managed to get up quickly, but Masvidal surrounded him against the cage and fired a series of blows to the face and body, forcing Herb Dean to stop the fight.
Devastating, Francis Ngannou knocks out Andrei Arlovski in less than two minutes
Ngannou ran over Arlovski in less than two minutes. (Photo: Getty Images)
I didn't even notice the smell. Biggest underdog at the bookmaker for UFC Denver, veteran Andrei Arlosvki was no match for Francis Ngannou, who knocked out the Belarusian at 1:32 of the first round. With the victory, the Cameroonian achieved his fifth victory in five UFC fights, all on the fast track, and moves closer to the heavyweight elite. Arlovski, in turn, lost his fourth in a row – his last victory was in September 2015. At 37 years old, the former UFC champion may have had his last fight in the organization.
The duel started with the two studying each other in the center of the octagon, without much action in the first minute. Arlovski tried to connect a combination of blows, but it went empty. Afterwards, the former champion threw a straight shot, but was surprised in the counterattack with a right hook that caught the target, knocking the Belarusian down. With Arlovski on the ground, Ngannou only had to throw a few more blows, forcing the referee to end the fight.
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight: Valentina Shevchenko derrotou Julianna Pena via submission (armbar) at 4m29s of R2
Lightweight: Jorge masvidal derrotou Donald Cerrone by technical knockout 1m from R2
Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou derrotou Andrei Arlovski by technical knockout at 1:32 of R1
Featherweight: Jason Knight defeated Alex Caceres via submission (rear naked choke) at 4m21s of R2
PRELIMINARY CARD
Average weight: Sam alvey defeated Nate Marquardt by unanimous decision (29×28, 29×28, 29×28)
Bantamweight: Raphael Assunção derrotou aljamain sterling by split decision (28×29, 29×28, 29×28)
Welterweight: Jingliang Li defeated Bobby Nash via technical knockout at 4:45 of R2
Light heavyweight: Jordan Johnson defeated Luiz Henrique Frankenstein by unanimous decision (30×27, 30×37, 30×27)
Middleweight: Eric Spicely defeated Alessio di chirico by submission (triangle) at 2m14s of R1
Light heavyweight: Marcos Rogério Pezão defeated Jeremy Kimball via TKO at 2:27 of R1
Flyweight: Alexandre pantoja derrotou Eric Shelton via split judge decision (29×28, 28×29, 29×28)
Lightweight: Jason Gonzalez defeated JC Cottrell via submission at 3:54 of R1
Comments