Pivotal Bantamweight Bout Slated For UFC Denver Main Event

A pivotal fight in the UFC women’s bantamweight division has been confirmed, as the promotion has officially announced that No. 2-ranked Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko will face off with with No. 3-ranked Julianna “Venezuelan Vixen” Pena in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on Jan. 28, 2016 from Denver, Colorado. Shevchenko has won

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A pivotal fight in the UFC women’s bantamweight division has been confirmed, as the promotion has officially announced that No. 2-ranked Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko will face off with with No. 3-ranked Julianna “Venezuelan Vixen” Pena in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on Jan. 28, 2016 from Denver, Colorado.

Shevchenko has won six of her last seven bouts and is coming off of the most impressive victory of her career, which was a dominant unanimous decision victory over ex-champion Holly Holm last July. “Bullet” is 2-1 inside the Octagon with her only loss under the promotional banner coming against reigning 135-pound champ Amanda Nunes.

Pena, on the other hand, is a former The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) winner and she’s put together quite the impressive resume, as she currently sits at 4-0 in the UFC. Her most recent victories have come over notable names Jessica Eye and former title challenger Cat Zingano.

Pena has been campaigning hard for a title shot and the winner of this bout will likely take on the winner of Dec. 30’s title fight between Nunes and former longtime champion Ronda Rousey.

Tickets for UFC Denver are on sale now.

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Amanda Nunes Will Wait For Ronda Rousey To Return

Amanda Nunes shocked the mixed martial arts (MMA) world at last month’s (July 9, 2016) UFC 200, destroying Miesha Tate in the first round of their main event bout to become the UFC women’s bantamweight champion. With the title now strapped around her waist, Nunes has multiple options regarding her next challenge given the wide […]

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Amanda Nunes shocked the mixed martial arts (MMA) world at last month’s (July 9, 2016) UFC 200, destroying Miesha Tate in the first round of their main event bout to become the UFC women’s bantamweight champion. With the title now strapped around her waist, Nunes has multiple options regarding her next challenge given the wide open nature of the 135-pound division.

No. 5-ranked Julianna Pena is riding a winning streak and campaigning for a title shot while No. 3-ranked Valentina Shevchenko is also gunning for a shot at gold after recently beating former titleholder Holly Holm. But as always, a dark cloud is looming over the division regarding the potential return of previously dominant champion Ronda Rousey, who’s been out of action since getting knocked out by Holm last November.

If the “Rowdy” one plans on returning in the near future, Nunes will be waiting, and the Brazilian feels confident that she would match up well against Rousey:

“I’ve been training jiu-jitsu since I started. Jiu-jitsu and judo both together. I know how to block very well judo throws, I know how to use my hips very well. I know if Ronda Rousey is coming back, I’m going to keep the championship,” Nunes said during a Q&A session ahead of UFC 201.

If the former champion isn’t coming back any time soon, Nunes acknowledges that both Pena and Shevchenko are deserving of a title shot, but she also once again made it clear that her eyes are set on a bout with Rousey:

“Ronda Rousey,” Nunes said when asked point blank who she wants next. “But we have a couple of girls in line right now — Julianna Pena, Valentina Shevchenko, and if Ronda’s not coming back, I’ll take Julianna Pena. It’s no problem.”

Who would you like to see the 135-pound queen face off with next?

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UFC Rankings: Valentina Shevchenko Rockets Up The Charts

Amanda Nunes, Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey are the only three female bantamweight fighters now ranked ahead of Valentina Shevchenko in the latest UFC rankings.

Shevchenko jumped four spots to No. 3 after besting former champion Holly Holm at UFC on …

valentina-shevchenko-interv

Amanda Nunes, Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey are the only three female bantamweight fighters now ranked ahead of Valentina Shevchenko in the latest UFC rankings.

Shevchenko jumped four spots to No. 3 after besting former champion Holly Holm at UFC on FOX 20 this past weekend. Holm, who suffered her second straight loss, fell to fourth.

Raquel Pennington and Katlyn Chookagian also moved up in the Top-15.

Dooho Choi made his debut in the featherweight rankings, coming in at No. 12. Gilbert Melendez returned to the lightweight Top-15 despite losing to Edson Barboza, who jumped Donald Cerrone for fifth.

Eddie Wineland climbed three spots to 12th at bantamweight following his win over Frankie Saenz, who dropped three spots to 15th.

UFC On Fox 20 Scores Highest Ratings In Two Years

Building off of a previous report that last Saturday’s UFC on FOX 20 did solid televised ratings, final numbers show that the card actually did much better as the highest-watched summertime UFC on FOX show and the highest overall since January 2015’s UFC on FOX 14. According to MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer, the last three

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Building off of a previous report that last Saturday’s UFC on FOX 20 did solid televised ratings, final numbers show that the card actually did much better as the highest-watched summertime UFC on FOX show and the highest overall since January 2015’s UFC on FOX 14.

According to MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer, the last three rounds of the card’s main event between women’s bantamweights Valentina Shevchenko and Holly Holm brought in 4,687,000 viewers, making it the second most-watched UFC on FOX bout outside of football season (where promotion during games traditionally leads to higher numbers), beaten only by April 2013’s Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez lightweight title bout at UFC on FOX 7.

The overall numbers brought a 1.8 share and 2,975,000 viewers on average, beaten only by a movie aired on NBC brought in 2,976,000 viewers. The main success of UFC on FOX 20 came in the key 18-34 demographic, gaining an 0.8 rating and 1.1 share when no other show on network television topped 0.7 that night.

UFC on FOX 20’s massive ratings success was mainly due to the overall fame and attention that Holm brings, as she is still known as the fighter who knocked out Ronda Rousey despite losing two straight fights since. Holm brought a large amount of buzz to the Chicago card, which, after losing its ‘Rumble Johnson vs. Glover Teixeira co-main event, was lacking in overall star power.

But the fact that Holm’s bout with Shevchenko lasted five full rounds allowed ratings to climb to the lofty figures above.

The prelims also faired well with 1,261,000 viewers.

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UFC On FOX 20 Ratings: Shevchenko vs. Holm Delivers Big Numbers

Despite losing an explosive co-main event when top light heavyweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson was forced out of his bout against Glover Teixeira, last Saturday’s (July 23, 2016) UFC on FOX 20 from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois brought in some big numbers for FOX. The event, which was headlined by rising bantamweight Valentina Shevchenko’s

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Despite losing an explosive co-main event when top light heavyweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson was forced out of his bout against Glover Teixeira, last Saturday’s (July 23, 2016) UFC on FOX 20 from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois brought in some big numbers for FOX.

The event, which was headlined by rising bantamweight Valentina Shevchenko’s upset win over former bantamweight champion Holly Holm, compiled 2.44 million viewers in overnight ratings. Lightweight Edson Barboza also put on a striking clinic over returning former Strikeforce champion in the co-main event, securing one of his highest profile wins.

The network scored a win in the pivotal adults 18-49 demographic with a .9 share according to TV By The Numbers (as explained by MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas). That spot measures the 8-10 p.m. Eastern time zone, and while the ratings track the same timeframe for the Pacific time zone, UFC on FOX 20 was obviously a live event, meaning it aired at 5 p.m. on the West Coast.

Numbers are expected to increase when the complete ratings are released shortly.

The 2.44 million scored by UFC on FOX 20, while somewhat close to the usual average for major FOX-aired events, are slight increases over recent FOX shows. UFC on FOX 20 showed a noted improvement over the most recent FOX card, which brought in 2.13 million viewers in April following a number of last-minute changes.

On that card, Teixeira knocked out former 205-pound champion Rashad Evans and top lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov returned from nearly two years off to beat late replacement Darrell Horcher after his oft-scheduled fight with Tony Ferguson fell apart once gain.

UFC on FOX 20 carried a decent amount more star power, as Holm is obviously known as the woman who shockingly dethroned MMA superstar Ronda Rousey with a massive headkick last November. But with two straight losses since that bout, it will remain to be seen if Holm can carry events to ratings success anymore – or if she even finds herself so close to the top of cards.

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Video: Valentina Shevchenko Talks About Handing Holly Holm Her Second Pro MMA Defeat

https://youtu.be/Wca0pixOLJY

Shortly after her impressive victory over former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm in the UFC On FOX 20 main event on Saturday night in Chicago, Illinois, new UFC Women’s Bantamweight contender spoke about wha…

valentina-shevchenko-interv

https://youtu.be/Wca0pixOLJY

Shortly after her impressive victory over former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm in the UFC On FOX 20 main event on Saturday night in Chicago, Illinois, new UFC Women’s Bantamweight contender spoke about what has to be considered the biggest win of her professional MMA career.

Featured above is a backstage interview with Valentina Shevchenko, who handed Holm her second straight defeat by out-pointing her and earning a decision victory over here this past weekend.

For highlights of the Holm-Shevchenko fight, click here. For complete UFC On FOX 20 results, click here. To find out what Holm thought after the fight, click here.