UFC on FOX 23 takes place this Saturday in Denver, Colorado. You can catch the main card on FOX starting at 7pm ET. This event features some really intriguing fights, including a presumed title eliminator bout in the women’s bantamweight division. Let’s take a look at this bout – Shevchenko vs Pena:
Valentina Shevchenko vs Julianna Pena
This fight should determine the next challengerfor the UFC women’s bantamweight title, currently held by Amanda Nunes.
Let’s talk experience
Despite having more UFC experience, Pena’s experience overall pales in comparison.
To start, Shevchenko has an assumed 58-2 kickboxing record and an undefeated boxing record. This is a massive advantage that Shevchenko has over virtually every woman in the UFC. Additionally, she has 5 more professional MMA bouts than Pena (15 to 10). One of these fights being against the former champ Holly Holm, where Shevchenko soundly won a 5-round decision.
However, Pena does have her time on Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter under her belt. During the show, Pena went 3-0 with 2 submission victories. Then, in the show’s finale, Pena TKO’d Jessica Rakoczy to win the season.
“The Bullet”
Shevchenko’s fighting style is characteristic of her experience. She’s calculated, patient, technical, and rarely gets over-eager. She fights like a weathered veteran. However, she has been criticized for being too conservative at times. In her last fight against Holly Holm, we saw Shevchenko out-counter-strike the renowned counter-striker. We saw how technical and well-paced Shevchenko can be, even under the pressure cooker of a UFC main event. Shevchenko keeps her composure well and doesn’t faulter under pressure.
While Shevchenko may have a sensational striking pedigree, she has shown to be a very well-rounded fighter too. On average, she completes 50% of her takedown attempts and defends 70% according to her UFC stats. She showed some fantastic takedowns in her UFC debut against Sarah Kaufman, and then again in her fight with Holly Holm. Her only UFC loss was to reigning champion Amanda Nunes. If Shevchenko were to beat Julianna Pena, she would most certainly rematch Nunes for the title.
“The Venezuelan Vixen”
To say Shevchenko is more battle-tested might be an understatement, but that’s not to say Pena can’t win this fight. After all, we know Pena to be a very aggressive fighter who fights with tenacity. I don’t expect Pena is intimidated by her opponent’s credentials. The fact that Pena went through The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 and won is another testament to her mental strength.
Additionally, Pena been talking up a storm ever since return from injury in 2015. This has raised some controversy around her, but she seems to be doing the right things to garner some attention. After all, she has put together some very impressive performances.
Most recently, Pena defeated title challenger Cat Zingano at UFC 200. Pena largely won the fight due to her aggressiveness on the ground. She is statistically more effective with her takedowns than Shevchenko is, but has also out-struck every one of her UFC opponents so far. I wouldn’t say Pena is anywhere near Valentina in terms of technique, timing, variety, etc., but she’s vicious and often overwhelms her opponents with aggression.
The Match Up: Shevchenko vs Pena
This fight is a testament to how much things are heating up in the UFC’s women’s divisions. We have a featherweight division in the making, some really promising strawweight contenders, and then of course the ultra-competitive bantamweight division. Shevchenko brings a lot of advantages in experience and craft into this fight, but Pena has some interesting x-factors that should make this a very intriguing bout. The line for the fight is virtually a pick’em, so if you’re going to put some money down, the smart bet would be Valentina Shevchenko!
Stay tuned for more UFC on FOX 23 coverage! I’ll have a Donald Cerrone vs Jorge Masvidal preview coming up soon! Thanks for reading this Shevchenko vs Pena preview!
