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Valentina Shevchenko still rules the women’s flyweight division.
Shevchenko (25-4-1 MMA, 14-3-1 UFC) entered the octagon to face Manon Fiorot as she aimed to secure the first title defense of her second reign. The women’s flyweight title fight served as the co-main event of UFC 315 at Bell Centre in Montreal. After 25 minutes, Shevchenko did enough in the judges’ eyes to defeat Fiorot (12-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) unanimously with 48-47 scores across the board.
Fiorot came out with forward pressure early but was promptly slowed by sharp counters from Shevchenko. As the round continued to unfold, Fiorot was more calculated with her striking. However, Shevchenko’s right hand continued to land, and a big overhand offering busted open the challenger’s nose. Shevchenko took the fight to the ground late to score some control time.
In Round 2, Fiorot took a different approach by looking for takedowns, but her first attempt wasn’t there. Shevchenko was content to stay within her space and play the counter game. Fiorot found success by getting Shevchenko to the ground with her third takedown attempt, but didn’t get much done on the mat. In the closing seconds, Fiorot stood up and threw an illegal knee to the grounded Shevchenko, but referee Marc Goddard didn’t pause the action or issue a warning at the time.
With the fight seemingly tied after 10 minutes, Fiorot continued to press forward, leading striking exchanges. A well-timed spinning backfist from Shevchenko prompted Fiorot to shoot in for a takedown, but the champ defended it well, landing punches on the exit.
Shevchenko showed more urgency early in Round 4 as she turned up the volume a little and uncorked a nice wheel kick. Fiorot clinched up against the fence to stop the champ from gaining momentum. Shevchenko added her own takedown attempt, but couldn’t complete it. However, a nice spinning kick to the body scored a moment later. With a minute to go, Shevchenko secured a takedown, but couldn’t keep the fight on the ground.
In the closing seconds of the round, Shevchenko landed a counter right hand to send Fiorot crashing to the mat. She rushed in to land follow-up punches, but the horn sounded. This would be the biggest moment of the fight.
With the title seemingly hanging in the balance with five minutes remaining, someone needed to put a stamp on the fight. Shevchenko was sharper in space as Fiorot looked to close the distance. The crowd didn’t appreciate Fiorot’s clinch work entering the final minute. They separated with about 40 seconds remaining and let their strikes fly for a moment, but nothing connected that would change the outcome.
The judges determined Shevchenko did enough to retain her title after five rounds. Shevchenko now has recorded her first title defense of her second flyweight title reign after reclaiming the title by defeating Alexa Grasso in a trilogy bout at UFC 306 in September.
Fiorot walks away with just the second loss of her professional career. Her first loss came in her professional debut, and then ripped through 12 straight opponents to earn a title shot.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 315 results
- Valentina Shevchenko def. Manon Fiorot via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
- Aiemann Zahabi def. Jose Aldo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Natalia Silva def. Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Benoit Saint Denis def. Kyle Prepolect via submission (arm triangle) – Round 2, 2:35
- Mike Malott def. Charles Radtke via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:26
- Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Jessica Andrade via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:40
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Ion Cutelaba via split decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28)
- Navajo Stirling def. Ivan Erslan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
- Marc-Andre Barriault def. Bruno Silva via KO (punches) – Round 1, 1:27
- Daniel Santos def. Jeong Yeong Lee via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Bekzat Almakhan def. Brad Katona via KO (punch) – Round 1, 1:04
#Valentina #Shevchenko #retains #Manon #Fiorot
