Elite title contender Valentina Shevchenko will get her first chance to hoist UFC gold when she takes on current women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 215 on Sept. 9 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The two first met back at UFC 196 last year, which featured a unanimous decision win for Nunes.
In preparation for Shevchenko’s upcoming rematch with “Lioness,” UFC has opened up its vault and released the Russian’s 2015 Octagon debut opposite Sarah Kaufman (shown above). The action took place on the undercard portion of UFC on FOX 17, and featured a split-decision win for “Bullet.” The 29-year-old out-struck Kaufman 32-27 and scored four total takedowns over the course of three rounds.
It wasn’t Shevchenko’s most dominant performance of her career, but it was one that showcased her overall skills within the budding 135-pound division. Shevchenko would go on to lose her next Octagon outing to Nunes before capturing impressive main event victories over former UFC champion Holly Holm and top contender Julianna Pena.
UFC 215 will be headlined by a flyweight title fight pitting long-time champion Demetrious Johnson against unlikely contender Ray Borg.
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