After withdrawing from her previously scheduled rematch with Valentina Shevchenko at July’s UFC 213, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes had a point to prove when she faced off with “Bullet” a second time in the main event of last night’s (Sat., September 9, 2017) UFC 215 from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
As quite possibly the most talented match in the short history of the women’s 135-pound landscape, the fight may not have delivered the all-out, back-and-forth barnburner that many fans expected due to the fireworks of their first fight at 2016’s UFC 196. But the boos from fans in Canada was undeserved, as Nunes and Shevchenko delivered a tactful, closely-contested bout that “The Lioness” emerged victorious from with a razor-thin split decision.
Nunes pushed the pace for the vast majority of the five rounds, conserving energy to prove to her critics that she could indeed go five full rounds. Push kicks and leg kicks were effective for the champ, but she was countered with the crisp and accurate strikes of Shevchenko, who was pinpoint with her shots. But she spent most of the fight moving backward, had her back taken, and gave up a takedown and ground control in the pivotal fifth frame.
It may not have been the most decisive defense for Nunes, but it answered many questions about her so-called lack of a gas tank, and it also proved she could rise above the adversity of her UFC 213 withdrawal to defend her belt against the consensus next-best fighter in the UFC women’s bantamweight division.
Check out video highlights of her hard-fought win over “Bullet” in three segments of the fight released by the UFC here:
The challenger loosening up in round 2!!
How do we have it? 1-1? 2-0?@Amanda_Leoa | @BulletValentina | RD 3 up NOW #UFC215 pic.twitter.com/vIMyXgBJOv
— UFC (@ufc) September 10, 2017
We head to the final round!!
2-2? How we scoring this?! #UFC215 pic.twitter.com/P9RqkPyhpf
— UFC (@ufc) September 10, 2017
Turning point in the fight???#UFC215 pic.twitter.com/dop1cPL7Ha
— UFC (@ufc) September 10, 2017
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