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New York, NY — UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko earned another win, another defense of her UFC title when she handily defeated ex-strawweight champ Weili Zhang at UFC 322 on Saturday. Shevchenko (26-4-1) tied the record for most UFC title fight wins among women, at 11, with her performance at Madison Square Garden. The only other fighter on the women’s side of the promotion to have hit that number is Amanda Nunes, who is set to return from retirement sometime next year. Nunes is a name that could be on Shevchenko’s mind down the road. Another war to prepare for, the same way she prepared for Zhang. Though a war is not what she got, winning all five rounds on all three scorecards, triplicate 50-45 scores in the end. “I was preparing for a war. I even took all my anti-inflammatory pills with me, because I didn’t know how I was going to walk out of the octagon,” Shevchenko said following the bout, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press on hand in New York. Shevchenko didn’t expect an easy fight, even after the bout had started. “During the fight, from the begging to the end, I could not let myself be very sure. ‘Oh it’s going great, and I can relax now.’ No, because I’m fighting with the highest-level opponent, Weili, and she’s highest-level opponent, very dangerous in every moment. And knowing she has this knockout power, one punch, when I saw I had several body kicks, it’s kind of like ‘yeah one more and that’s gonna be it.’ But then you have to remember, if you approach too early, too soon, there is a punch that is going to hit you very hard, and you might be finished on the ground, on the floor. And you don’t want to do that.” There are a lot of options moving forward for Valentina Shevchenko, who is on her second reign as UFC women’s flyweight champ. Her trilogy with Alexa Grasso behind her (though technically tied 1-1-1 thanks to a draw in their second encounter, there seems to be little appetite for a fourth bout), it’s either a blossoming flyweight contender, or a more established name at bantamweight next. Shevchenko started her UFC run at 135lbs, and fought for a title there. Kayla Harrison, for one, has suggested fighting Shevchenko at the White House next year. “I think it’s one of the possibilities, yes. And I’ll consider that,” Shevchenko said in response to the idea that she face the current UFC women’s bantamweight champ on what is expected to be a historic card. First up, however, she wants to heal up. “For now, I want to take care of injuries that I have, that are kind of migrating from training camp to training camp with me. But after maybe a week or something like that, we’ll have our conversation with my team, with my coach Pavel, and decide what is next. Because I feel there are good challengers in flyweight as well. Erin [Blanchfield], Natalia [Silva]. And bantamweight, now with have Amanda or Kayla.” Blanchfield earned a submission victory of her own at UFC 322, in a rematch with Tracy Cortez. Whether she did enough to leapfrog Natalia Silva, who holds the #2 spot in the weight class behind Manon Fiorot, remains to be seen. Shevchenko, however, is aware that the fanbase would like to see her fight bigger names, especially coming out of a super-fight with Zhang. Harrison, or a third fight with Amanda Nunes, are the obvious options. “I would say probably fans would love to see Amanda trilogy, because it’s unfinished business,” noted Shevchenko. “But at the same time, it’s unclear yet, is she returning or not returning, is she fighting or not fighting? And also it’s unknown in what shape she’s going to return. Half Amanda, or maybe full Amanda, who knows? Kayla is also one of the possibilities, and it’s going to be another super-challenge.” Watch the full UFC 322 post-fight press conference with Valentina Shevchenko above. The post UFC 322: Valentina Shevchenko Says Harrison White House Fight “A Possibility” appeared first on Cageside Press.

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It was never going to be an easy call for the UFC decision makers when it came to the bonus money at UFC 322. There were plenty of big finishes, plenty of deserving fighters. Newcomer Ethyn Ewing shocked many with an upset of Malcolm Wellmaker. Erin Blanchfield submitted Tracy Cortez in a rematch from their Invicta days, back in 2019. Four other fighters, however, took home the bonus money at UFC 322. Each was awarded a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus; no Fight of the Night was announced for the New York card, a common theme of late. Leading the pack Bo Nickal, the only one of the four winners the appear on the preliminary card. Nickal put away BJJ star Rodolfo Vieira with a head kick in the night’s featured prelim, and in doing so bounced back from his first career loss, against Reinier de Ridder. If there was any question as to whether the loss to RDR had shaken the decorated collegiate wrestler, he most certainly answered it. Kicking off the main card, lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis floored Beneil Dariush in just sixteen seconds. Then, in sequence in the follow two fights, Carlos Prates became the first man to knock out former welterweight champ Leon Edwards, while Michael Morales scored a TKO finish of Sean Brady. Morales extended his winning streak and overall record to 19-0 with that performance, and cemented himself as the frontrunner for a title shot at 170lbs. 20,464 was the announced attendance, per UFC CEO and President Dana White. The post Morales, Nickal Among Four Performance Bonus Winners at UFC 322 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Two champions. Two reigns for each. And for Weili Zhang, a chance to become a two-division champ at UFC 322, where the former strawweight Queen moved up in weight to challenge Valentina Shevchenko. “Bullet” had long been the most dominant female flyweight on the planet, but with Zhang having cleared out all the big names at 115lbs, the long-brewing super-fight finally arrived in the co-main event of UFC 322 in New York City. Noticeable early in the fight was how light and active on her feet Weili Zhang was. Her speed and in-and-out movement were on full display, catching champ Shevchenko with a punch early. Shevchenko would fire a Superman punch about a minute in, but was playing a more patient game, staying outside and using her length. When Zhang closed the distance, Shevchenko welcomed her with a knee, sending the pair to the mat with the champ on top. Shevchenko worked to improve her position, but Zhang was able to scramble back up. That led to Shevchenko again working from the outside, and as Zhang came in, she was clipped with a spinning backfist. A clinch led to Shevchenko reversing, and landing a takedown, straight into side control. Zhang would finish the round on her back. After losing the opening frame, Weili Zhang was still bouncing on her feet early in the second. Under a minute in, a clinch led to Shevchenko getting the fight down off a throw. In half guard, she passed to side control briefly. Zhang got half guard back, but not for long. Back to side control for the champ, who was threatening to lock up a crucifix. Zhang avoided that, just barely, but Shevchenko kept chasing it. Zhang would finally catch a leg with her own, getting Shevchenko back in half guard. A moment later, full guard. Small victories for Zhang, who was being dominated otherwise. Between the second and third round, Zhang’s corner instructed her to keep the fight on the feet. She fired some big right hands early, but hit air. Shevchenko’s counter did land. A spinning kick landed, a glancing blow, for the champ. Through three minutes, Zhang had done as her corner asked, keeping the fight standing. Perhaps still trailing a bit on the feet, but she was still on the feet, until Shevchenko finally got her in a clinch and threw her down. Then it was Shevchenko in half guard, on top, showing she was simply too powerful on top for Zhang to overcome. Shevchenko fired off some ground n’ pound to finish the stanza, and headed into the championship rounds with a comfortable lead. With Valentina Shevchenko almost certainly up 30-27, Weili Zhang almost certainly needed a finish in the final ten minutes. She opened round four eating a few kicks from the champ, that had a noticeable effect after impact. Another kick to the body sent Zhang staggering back. In a Thai clinch, Shevchenko ripped a knee to the body. Another kick to the body, a front kick this time, and again, Zhang stumbled back. The challenger would land a kick of her own, then ate a right hand for her troubles. The first takedown of round four arrived with just over a minute on the clock. Shevchenko caught a kick, dumped Zhang, and found herself in half guard. Zhang was stuck on her back until the round closed out, down to just five minutes to find a way to flip the script. Zhang’s corner called for a takedown, a submission, or just a finish between rounds. Considering the Chinese challenger had been losing the grappling exchanges, how viable that request was certainly seemed up for debate. Shevchenko was still ripping kicks to the body. And two minutes in, she landed a takedown that simply had to be demoralizing for Weili. After 25 minutes, there was little more to say: Valentina Shevchenko had looked thoroughly dominant, and Zhang never seemed like she was truly in the fight. Official Result: Valentina Shevchenko def. Weili Zhang by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) The post UFC 322: Valentina Shevchenko Thoroughly Dominant, Turns Back Weili Zhang appeared first on Cageside Press.