Amanda Nunes still reigns atop the UFC’s bantamweight division.
Nunes took on Valentina Shevchenko, a woman she had faced before and was supposed to face two months ago.
There wasn’t much action in the first round. Amanda landed some good leg kicks while Valentina chose to play a more defensive game, waiting in order to land some counter strikes.
Nunes had to be reminded to keep her hands closed.
Shevchekno opened up significantly in the second round, throwing and landing some superwoman punches and landing a nice combo at the end of the round. Nunes held in the inside of the octagon, chasing Valentina around the octagon and lightly tapping Shevchekno’s hands. Nunes, however, did not land much.
Again, Nunes had to be reminded to keep her hands closed.
Valentina continued her success in the third round, again landing some solid combinations and superwoman punches.
This time Big John was a little bit more forceful, telling Nunes to close her “goddamn hands.” Nunes finally got the message.
The fourth round told the same tale. While Nunes was successful with the kicks to the leg and body, she could not land anything significant with her hands. Still, the champion did not take much damage.
When the fifth rolled around, we finally saw some takedowns. Amanda Nunes shot in with a double but could not land it. Later, she landed on Shevchenko’s back but could not get anything. However, as soon as Valentina got up, Nunes pressed her up against the cage and dropped her with a huge takedown. The round ended with Nunes in her guard.
Valentina came close, but it may have been the fifth round the gave Amanda the edge she needed to retain her gold.
