The MMA world is currently dealing with the shockwave sent through the sport when it was confirmed this afternoon that UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes had been forced out of her UFC 213 main event against Valentina Shevchenko after she had been hospitalized. With the odd scenario of a UFC pay-per-view main event being […]
The MMA world is currently dealing with the shockwave sent through the sport when it was confirmed this afternoon that UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes had been forced out of her UFC 213 main event against Valentina Shevchenko after she had been hospitalized.
With the odd scenario of a UFC pay-per-view main event being canceled the day of the fight getting odder with each development, a top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter offered to step up a la Anderson Silva at UFC 200 to save the Fourth of July card for the UFC.
In Vegas for International Fight Week, women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk offered to step in for the much bigger ‘Lioness’ and battle Shevchenko, who ironically beat “Joanna Champion” three times through her decorated combat sports career. Jedrzejczyk posted she was trying to make the fight happen on Instagram:
A post shared by Joanna Jedrzejczyk (@joannajedrzejczyk) on
In the video, Jedrzejczyk plead with White as she wrestled ATT coach Mike Brown, goading her boss to ‘make it happen’ in ‘their city’ and get the medicals done:
“Come on Dana, come on UFC,” she said on a video. “Make it happen. Talk to the commission. Let’s have the medicals done. This is your city. Come on Dana, make it happen. I’m in shape.”
But while she said she was in fighting shape on the Instagram video, Jedrzejczyk addressed the camera directly to admit that while she wasn’t quite in fight shape as of now, she was still willing to step in on short notice and “break” Shevchenko if the promotion needed that before offering a hello to Ronda Rousey (transcribed by MMA Junkie):
“OK guys – I just got phone call from Dana, and of course I’m not in shape to fight, 100 percent” Jedrzejczyk said. “But I’m going to be honest with you, if they want me, they need me today, I step into the octagon today. Tonight, I just break Valentina. And I feel sorry to her. Of course, Amanda is sick, it sucks. (Expletive) happens sometimes.
“But yeah. So guys, train hard, train smart, and prepare well for the fight. I will see you later. Let me keep some training. And best regard to Ronda Rousey. I’m so sorry I couldn’t come today. Wish I could meet you, you the champ.”
UFC President Dana White also wrote his own Instagram post praising Jedrzejzyk, heaping attention on his 115-pound champion for being a “badass”:
But it wasn’t meant to be, ultimately, as White revealed to MMA Junkie’s John Morgan that the Nevada State Athletic Commission . (NSAC) would never let the bout take place on such short notice:
If they did, however, Shevchenko was apparently ready to go and fight Jedrzejczyk for the first UF 125-pound championship, a division that has been oft-discussed this year but yet to debut or crown a champion:
The circumstances concerning women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes’ mysterious withdrawal from her awaited title fight with Valentina Shevchenko in the main event of UFC 213 continue to devolve into just that – mystery. That’s how Nunes’ bosses at the UFC view it according to a report from TMZ Sports that detailed how Nunes stated she […]
The circumstances concerning women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes’ mysterious withdrawal from her awaited title fight with Valentina Shevchenko in the main event of UFC 213 continue to devolve into just that – mystery.
That’s how Nunes’ bosses at the UFC view it according to a report from TMZ Sports that detailed how Nunes stated she wasn’t feeling well during the week leading up to tonight, and went to the hospital on both Friday and Saturday. News swirled that Nunes was in jeopardy of withdrawing, and Ariel Helwani confirmed she had been hospitalized.
Word came soon after that multiple sources had confirmed Nunes was indeed off the pay-per-view card, but the question marks surrounding the reason for her withdrawal have remained until now. After she was checked out at the hospital, doctors reportedly found nothing wrong with Nunes. Yet she still chose to say she was not well enough to fight at UFC 21 and pulled herself off the event.
That’s a new one, and it’s a highly disappointing occurrence that is going to prompt all sorts of speculation.
Either way, the interim middleweight title bout between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker will now serve as the UFC 213 main event. Keep your eyes on LowKick for any developments on this increasingly more strange story as they arrive.
The exact news fight fans didn’t want to hear is apparently coming true this afternoon as UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has reportedly been confirmed out of her awaited championship rematch with Valentina Shevchenko in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., July 8, 2017) UFC 213 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Word […]
The exact news fight fans didn’t want to hear is apparently coming true this afternoon as UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has reportedly been confirmed out of her awaited championship rematch with Valentina Shevchenko in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., July 8, 2017) UFC 213 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Word just came from Ariel Helwani that Nunes had been hospitalized after feeling ill all week long, thus thrusting the anticipated women’s title bout in serious trouble. Helwani tweeted to await for confirmation, but another trusted source in Las Vegas tweeted that the worst has been confirmed to him by multiple sources.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto posted that Nunes is ‘100 percent’ off the midsummer pay-per-view (PPV) event this evening:
Multiple sources have told me Amanda Nunes is 100 percent off UFC 213 tonight.
Ouch. That’s sure to send a shockwave through the collective MMA community, because as we’ve title fights fall apart the day before due to complications with weighing in, we’ve never seen a pay-per-view main event pulled from the lineup such a short time from when the fighters were set to make their walks.
Stay tuned for more on this rapidly developing – and extremely unfortunate – set of circumstances.
For over a year, Amanda Nunes has had to hear questions about fading against Valentina Shevchenko in their March 2016 fight—even after taking the belt from Miesha Tate with a first-round finish in her next fight.
Questions persist about what Nune…
For over a year, Amanda Nunes has had to hear questions about fading against Valentina Shevchenko in their March 2016 fight—even after taking the belt from Miesha Tate with a first-round finish in her next fight.
Questions persist about what Nunes can do when a fight gets out of the first round. Even after demolishing Ronda Rousey in under a minute, the attention shifted to the third round of her fight with Shevchenko.
That’s what makes the main event of UFC 213 so intriguing.
Nunes has taken over as the most dominant force in the women’s bantamweight division. She’s won five fights in a row, with four of those wins coming in the first round. She even won the fight against Shevchenko via decision, but the biggest question she must answer as a champion is what she’ll look like in the championship rounds.
Shevchenko might just be the fighter to give us the answer to that question.
It’s a strong main event for a fun card set to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Here’s a look at the rest of the card along with the latest odds from OddsShark and predictions for the biggest fights.
Thiago Santos (-160) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (+140)
Belal Muhammad (-150) vs. Jordan Mein (+120)
Prelims (UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET)
Rob Font (-325) vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade (+250)
Cody Stamann (-275) vs. Terrion Ware (+215)
Trevin Giles (-305) vs. James Bochnovic (+235)
Predictions
Jim Miller over Anthony Pettis
Anthony Pettis returns to the lightweight division where he was once champion in desperate need of a win. Showtime has lost four of his last five fights, including three at 155 pounds where he once held the belt.
Pettis once ruled the division with his lethal and versatile striking at range. Rafael dos Anjos destroyed the aura of invincibility that he once had by applying constant pressure, closing the distance and blasting the champion from close range.
It’s been the recipe for shutting down Pettis ever since.
Pettis tried dipping down to 145 pounds in hopes that smaller opponents would mean less grinding, but after getting TKO’d by Max Holloway in an interim title fight, he’s back to 155 pounds and actually decided to focus less on his wrestling.
“Wrestling is a big part of the sport,” Pettis said, per Fernanda Prates of MMAjunkie. “But if you look at it, I’m not gonna catch up to this guys. I’m not going to catch up to a Clay Guida in wrestling, and they’re not going to catch up to me in striking. So I’ve got to go out there and make sure that my striking is OK for the fight and not get caught up on the who’s on top and who’s doing the takedowns.”
It’s clear that Showtime is the better striker. Miller only has four wins by knockout in his 12-year career, but he is among the best grapplers in the lightweight division and could spell trouble for Pettis if he’s able to close the distance.
Expect Miller to be all over Pettis and ruin his return to lightweight by submission or decision.
Yoel Romero over Robert Whittaker
The middleweight interim title fight might just be the best on this card, as Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker truly represent two of the hottest fighters in the middleweight division.
For a division that has Michael Bisping as champion and no return date for an actual title fight, this is the best it gets at 185 pounds right now.
It’s hard to pick against Whittaker. The 26-year-old has brutalized his way to the top of the division. He’s on a seven-fight win streak highlighted by knockout wins over Derek Brunson and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
But Romero is a slightly different beast. Even Whittaker will admit that.
“I want to be known as one of the best fighters ever,” Whittaker said, per Will Swanton of The Australian. “So in order to walk that path I need to fight the toughest and baddest dudes in the world. More than anything this week, more than that shiny belt at the end of it, I get the chance to fight Yoel Romero. He’s such a tough dude. I’m in this game to fight hard dudes.”
Where Brunson had the power on the feet and Souza had the slick submission game, Romero is a threat to end this fight on the feet or on the mat at any point. Whittaker has the power to turn this prediction on its head, but Romero has more ways to win the fight.
The stand-up exchanges in this fight should be fun. Whittaker’s vicious combinations set up an interesting contrast to Romero’s explosive one-punch power, but if/when Romero is able to get this to the ground, the talent disparity will show.
That should be the difference as Romero secures a TKO via ground-and-pound.
Valentina Shevchenko over Amanda Nunes
As previously described, this fight comes down to what Nunes can get done in the first round and what is left of Shevchenko if and when this fight gets to the third round and beyond.
Nunes’ pressure game is hard to beat. She’s so long for the division and attacks with combinations that make it hard to get away without getting hit by at least one of her strikes.
But Shevchenko’s ability to pivot and counter could be the difference. Shevchenko has an impressive kickboxing and muay thai record that demonstrates her technical abilities in the stand-up department.
It isn’t just Shevchenko’s elite level striking, though. She’s also proved to be an adept grappler. She has secured multiple takedowns in each of her UFC fights except her loss to Nunes, per Fight Metric, so she could be looking to either utilize an early takedown to quiet Nunes’ early rush or take down a tired Nunes in the later rounds to do her damage that way.
Regardless, the chances are that we will know exactly how this fight is going to go after the first round. If Shevchenko is still standing, it’s a good sign for her. Nunes is 3-3 in fights that have gone past the first round in her career, with the latest win coming against Shevchenko (the other two came in 2009 and 2010).
Even in the third round of that fight, Shevchenko outstruck 17-3 and scored the takedown.
With a revised game plan that includes more early takedown attempts, Shevchenko has the slight advantage in this one. Expect her to stall for a decent part of the first round, ride the storm and take over the fight with a mixture of her counters and ground game.
If Nunes’ prior forays into the later rounds are any indication, it’s not out of the realm that Shevchenko should secure the finish by the fourth frame.
UFC 213 will go down live tonight (Sat. July 8, 2017) on pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and will feature a pair of intense title bouts. In the co-main event of the evening, the UFC will crown an interim middleweight champion when No. 1-ranked Yoel Romero takes on young No. […]
UFC 213 will go down live tonight (Sat. July 8, 2017) on pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and will feature a pair of intense title bouts.
In the co-main event of the evening, the UFC will crown an interim middleweight champion when No. 1-ranked Yoel Romero takes on young No. 3-ranked Robert Whittaker. The winner is expected to take on current 185-pound champ Michael Bisping once he is ready to return to action after nursing an injury.
Our main event will see women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes make her second title defense when she takes on No. 1-ranked Valentina Shevchenko in a rematch from their initial meeting in March of last year, which “The Lioness” won via unanimous decision.
You can check out tonight’s full fight card, start time, and information on how to watch here below:
UFC 213 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, July 8th) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nevada. The prelims will air on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET and FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET. Five bouts including two title bouts will take place on the main card that will air […]
UFC 213 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, July 8th) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nevada. The prelims will air on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET and FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET. Five bouts including two title bouts will take place on the main card that will air on pay-per-view event at 10 p.m. ET.
The event will be headlined by a UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Amanda Nunes and multiple-time muay thai world champion Valentina Shevchenko. The pairing met previously in March 2016 at UFC 196, with Nunes winning by unanimous decision. An interim UFC Middleweight Championship bout between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker will serve as the co-main event. Rounding out the main card is Fabricio Werdum vs. Alistair Overeem in a heavyweight bout, Daniel Omielanczuk vs. Curtis Blaydes in a heavyweight bout and Jim Miller vs. Anthony Pettis in a lightweight bout.
According to oddsmakers, there is not a favorite in the Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko bout as the odds for that fight is -110. Other odds for the main card include Romero being a +110 underdog against Whittaker, who is a -130 favorite. Here are the betting odds:
For over a year, Amanda Nunes has had to hear questions about fading against Valentina Shevchenko in their March 2016 fight—even after taking the belt from Miesha Tate with a first-round finish in her next fight.