Highlights! Shevchenko Narrowly Escapes With Title In Singapore

Valentina Shevchenko narrowly retained her UFC women’s flyweight title last night (Sat., June 11, 2022) at UFC 275 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, when “Bullet” ran into an equally tough Taila Santos in the co-main event. The two women battled it out for 25 minutes with the champion squeaking out the split-decision win.

Shevchenko did good in the early going with crisp counters and a tight body lock along the cage to land hard knees. That was until Santos reversed to back control during a botched takedown attempt by the champion and put Shevchenko in trouble with a few different rear-naked chokes.

Santos decided to lean on her grappling in Round 2 and fought for a takedown along the cage. Shevchenko was active off her back and almost secured an Omoplata before forcing the action back to the feet. The champion was able to regain momentum in the third with striking from distance, but Santos moved in again to secure another takedown and took Shevchenko’s back.

There was an accidental clash of heads in the third round as well that started to close Santos’ right eye early into the fourth. Shevchenko took full advantage and unleashed heavy combinations while staying away from any sort of grappling. Santos was having trouble finding her range but she did score another takedown in the final moments of the frame.

Shevchenko came out firing in the fifth and backed Santos up, who was able to win a scramble for another takedown. However, “Bullet” was able to shoot back to her feet. Moments later it was Shevchenko who shot in for a takedown and gained top control. The champion would ride it up from there and escape with her title.

Check out the full fight video highlights below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:

For complete UFC 275 results and coverage click here.