Photo by Alexandre Schneider /Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Valentina Shevchenko and Liz Carmouche faced each other in a women’s Flyweight clash tonight (Sat., Aug. 10, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 156 inside Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay, only on ESPN+. It was not fun, but Shevchenko won easily.
Carmouche opened the bout with some low kicks. Shevchenko stuck her with a jab. Carmouche missed a kick and ate some punches. Good low kick scored for Carmouche. Shevchenko returned the favor. “Bullet” landed a pair of quick low kicks. Carmouche’s punches came up way short consistently. Spin kick from Shevchenko glances off the abdomen of her foe. 1-2 landed somewhat for Shevchenko.
Good jab from Shevchenko began the second round. Carmouche continued to bounce around and attempt low kicks. Quick combo landed for Shevchenko. Carmouche attempted her first takedown and ate a punch when it failed. Shevchenko picked her spots occasionally, landing small strikes while making her opponent miss constantly. Decent calf kick scored for Carmouche. Good 1-2 low kick combo landed for Shevchenko. Spinning back fist counter and follow up punches from the champion.
More kicks are traded to start the third round. Hook-cross scored for Shevchenko. Shevchenko checked a low kick and returned it. Shevchenko caught her opponent off-guard with a crisp left, sending Carmouche to the mat briefly. Afterward, the two clinched up for the first time, resulting in a big toss to the mat from Shevchenko. Very little happened from within the full guard before the end of the round.
15 minutes into the bout, Carmouche was undoubtedly down three rounds.
Good Shevchenko inside low kick started the championship rounds. Good Superman punch into low kick scored for Shevchenko. Carmouche shot for a poorly setup takedown, resulting in Shevchenko taking top position. Carmouche played rubber guard to very little effect. A couple minutes of boredom resulted in a stand up with 90 seconds remaining. Shevchenko dropped her opponent with a spinning back fist. Shevchenko advanced into top position, but Carmouche largely just held on until the bell rang.
Carmouche continued her kick-focused “strategy” into the fifth and final round. Shevchenko dug a low kick counter. Superman punch and jab connected for Shevchenko. Carmouche dove into a single leg takedown, but Shevchenko sprawled quickly and wound up on top once again. Shevchenko stepped into half-guard. The rest of the fight took place from that position.
If you missed this fight, it was a good decision. Shevchenko utterly dominated her opponent in mind-numbing fashion, as Carmouche bafflingly ran around the Octagon without really trying to do much of anything.
Result: Valentina Shevchenko defeats Liz Carmouche via unanimous decision (3×50-45)
For complete UFC Fight Night 156: “Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2” results and coverage click HERE.