Valentina Shevchenko delivered an absolutely dominant performance against former two-time strawweight queen Zhang Weili in the UFC 322 co-main event.
Early in the round, Zhang moved in, looking to press Shevchenko against the fence. ‘Bullet’ used it as an opportunity to blast her opponent with a brutal knee to the body that seemingly knocked Zhang down. Shevchenko took the chance to take top control. Zhang ultimately fought her way back up, only to be met by a nasty spinning back elbow attack from the defending champion.
Zhang appeared to get wobbled by the elbow, but she was close enough to clinch up, giving her time to recover. Again, Shevchenko took advantage of the situation, scoring another takedown and falling directly into side control.
Shevchenko picked up right where she left off in the first, landing another takedown and taking side control. Once on the mat again, it became increasingly clear that the staggering size difference between Shevchenko and Zhang was a big problem for the latter.
It was more of the same from Shevchenko in the third and fourth rounds, with ‘Bullet’ punishing Zhang’s body with a variety of blows and notching two more takedowns.
In desperate need of a finish, Zhang came out looking to put her foot on the gas, but Shevchenko quickly shut her down, landing yet another takedown and grinding out the remainder of the fight.
That would take us to the scorecards for what would be a predictably decisive decision.
Official Result: Valentina Shevchenko def. Zhang Weili via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) to retain the UFC flyweight world championship.
