Written by Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Valentina Shevchenko racked up another title defense on Saturday after taking out Manon Fiorot in the UFC 315 co-main event.
While she had to battle through a couple of close rounds, Shevchenko did far more damage after breaking Fiorot’s nose with a devastating punch in the opening round and then scoring a knockdown in the fourth that helped keep her ahead on the scorecards. It was a valiant effort from Fiorot but Shevchenko was just too much for her over five rounds as the flyweight champion secured the win with all three judges giving her the nod with 48-47 scorecards.
“I was expecting a very hard fight,” Shevchenko said after the win. “Manon, she’s a hard opponent, a good striker. Everything we did to get ready for the fight, I was able to do. [I’ll] keep going. It’s like numbers are nothing. It’s about how you feel mentally and physically.”
An aggressive start from Fiorot led to a nasty counter punch from Shevchenko that definitely got her attention. Shevchenko was showcasing some very fast strikes and that forced Fiorot to adjust her attacks after eating several hard right hands.
Another right hand connected and Fiorot’s nose exploded as blood began pouring down her face before she gave up a takedown to the flyweight champion. While Shevchenko didn’t mount anymore damage on the ground, Fiorot clearly needed a reset after a rough start to the fight.
Despite getting cleaned up between rounds, Fiorot was still constantly touching her nose to show how much that was bothering her. Fiorot did manage to shut down a takedown attempt from Shevchenko before shoving her off to get back to striking in the center of the cage.
Fiorot then countered with a takedown of her own as she pressed Shevchenko against the cage while maintaining her control on the ground. Just before the horn sounded, Fiorot threw an illegal knee but Shevchenko was able to get her arms up to defend.
Afterwards, referee Marc Goddard issued a strong warning to Fiorot for the illegal blow.
Due to the adjustments that Fiorot was making, Shevchenko looked to establish a lead jab from the outside while making sure to watch for the level changes for a potential takedown. When Fiorot was able to close the distance, she started looking for knees to the body rather than turning to her wrestling to keep Shevchenko guessing.
A spinning backfist from Shevchenko appeared to connect but Fiorot still got back inside to attempt another takedown before time ran out on her.
With the fight moving into the championship rounds, Fiorot was keeping things close and still chipping away, which forced Shevchenko to alter her strategy to get more active. That led to a well timed spinning back kick that went directly to Fiorot’s body as the French flyweight continued moving forward, which was her strategy for the majority of the fight.
Just before the fourth round came to a close, Shevchenko clipped Fiorot with another nasty counter right hand as she sent the challenger crashing to the canvas. Shevchenko followed up with a few more punches on the ground as the momentum shifted in her favor.
The counter strikes continued to pay dividends for Shevchenko before uncorking another spinning back fist that blasted Fiorot as she moved forward. Despite the fight seemingly slipping away, Fiorot kept going back to the clinch but she was unable to secure the takedown and Shevchenko was making her pay any time she had space to work.
That was really the difference with Shevchenko’s offensive output just never allowing Fiorot to find any kind of rhythm and the championship once against stayed with the greatest flyweight in UFC history.
At 37, Shevchenko might seem like she’s nearing the end of her career but she keeps taking out contenders and it doesn’t appear there’s any slowing down for her as she continues adding more and more accolades to her Hall of Fame resume.