Valentina Shevchenko believes there was no question she defeated Taila Santos at UFC 275 in Singapore.
Entering the fight, many were expecting Shevchenko to dominate and cruise to another title defense as she was a sizeable betting favorite. Yet, throughout the fight, it was competitive and back-and-forth, and many thought Santos won when the fight went to the scorecards. Yet, it was Shevchenko winning by split decision and she thought she easily won due to the scoring criteria.
Damage Is What Matters
“I did everything I had to do,” Shevchenko said after UFC 275. “I had a challenging fight. I had five rounds, and this is exactly what I wanted, an opponent who is not giving up in the first second and goes until the end. In this kind of fight, you can show what you’re made of. Your character, your mindset. No matter how hard, no matter how difficult.
“She was inactive,” the champion continued, “and me being even in that position I was striking, and I was feeling the power of the strikes, and I felt how she reacted because it was hurting her. This is what counts the most in mixed martial arts, is damage. I could even feel in the fight round to round, you could see more damage showing on her face more and more.”
The flyweight champ @BulletValentina defends her throne once again 👏 #UFC275 pic.twitter.com/dfGpq4DETr
— UFC (@ufc) June 12, 2022
Although this fight was closer than many thought, Valentina Shevchenko knows she still remains the best at flyweight and that won’t change anytime soon.
Can Anyone Beat Valentina Shevchenko?
“Maybe they can think they can beat me, but they cannot,” Shevchenko said. “Even in the hard positions (I have a) champion’s mindset. Every time I will be on top. This is what I have. Being in martial arts for 30 years made me a hard opponent, very hard. Even if they think they can, they cannot.”
Shevchenko improved to 23-3 as a pro with the win and defended her belt for the seventh time. Santos, meanwhile, dropped to 19-2 and is now 4-2 in the UFC.
UFC 275 Results
Main Card
- Jiri Prochaska submitted Glover Teixeira by rear naked choke – Round 5
- Valentina Shevchenko defeated Taila Santos – Split Decision
- Zhang Weili KO’d Joanna Jedrzejczyk – Round 2
- Jake Matthews TKO’d Andre Fialho – Round 1
- Jack Della Maddalena TKO’d Ramazan Emeev – Round 1
Prelims
- Josh Culibao defeated SeungWoo Choi – Split Decision
- Maheshate KO’d Steve Garcia – Round 1
- Brendan Allen defeated Jacob Malkoun – Unanimous Decision
Early Prelims
- Kyung Ho Kang defeated Batgerel Danaa – Unanimous Decision
- Silvana Gomez Juarez KO’d Liang Na – Round 1
- Joselyne Edwards defeated Ramona Pascual – Unanimous Decision
