Valentina Shevchenko defended her flyweight championship for the seventh time at the UFC 275 co-main event Saturday in Singapore.
The 34-year-old narrowly defeated Taila Santos in a split decision, with two judges scoring the fight 49-46 and 48-47 for Shevchenko and one 48-47 for Santos.
đź—Ł AND STILL!!!@BulletValentina survives the biggest test of her reign to retain the belt! #UFC275 pic.twitter.com/snxJR1dAG1
— UFC (@ufc) June 12, 2022
Maintaining more control throughout the fight, Santos tested Shevchenko throughout the five rounds, especially in the opening frame, when the Brazilian capitalized on a rare mistake from Shevchenko.
The reigning champion, however, landed more damaging strikes, taking hold of the fight after an accidental head butt left Santos’s eye swollen shut.
“I did everything I had to do,” Shevchenko told reporters after UFC 275. “I had challenging fight. I had five rounds, and this is exactly what I wanted, an opponent who is not giving up in the first second and goes until the end. In this kind of fight you can show what you’re made of. Your character, your mindset. No matter how hard, no matter how difficult.”
Saturday’s victory marks Shevchenko’s ninth straight win, solidifying the run as the longest active winning streak of any UFC women’s fighter.
UFC 275 marked the last trip to the octagon for one of the sport’s greatest stars.
Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk announced her retirement after falling to Zhang Weili in a knockout loss Saturday night.
“It’s been 20 years,” Jedrzejczyk told UFC’s Daniel Cormier after the fight. “I’m turning 35 this year. I want to be a mom. I want to be a businesswoman. I’ve been training more than half of my life. I love you guys.”
Leaving her gloves in the Octagon đź‘Ź
— UFC (@ufc) June 12, 2022
[ @JoannaMMA | #UFC275 ] pic.twitter.com/x5rh6Uyt4Y
Jedrzejczyk finishes her career with a 16-5 record, including a UFC women’s strawweight title reign from 2015 to 2017. The veteran holds the most title fights in strawweight history with nine and the most title-fight victories ever at six.
Zhang and Jedrzejczyk have a history of notable fights, facing off in March 2020 at UFC 248, with Zhang taking the victory in a thrilling split decision.
Jedrzejczyk’s announcement triggered a wave of support from the UFC community, with athletes paying tribute to the legend.
Flyweight star Casey O’Neill took to Twitter, calling Jedrzejczyk her favorite fighter of all time. Raquel Pennington also wished the UFC icon well, writing, “thank you for all the fun fights, always a fan!”
@joannamma my favorite female fighter of all time. My heart is so sad right now. Thank you for everything Joanna Champion, you made our sport better. Crying with you tonight #ufc275
— Casey Oneill (@kingcaseymma) June 12, 2022
WWE’s Monday Night Raw didn’t come without some drama this week, as Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out on the main event in which they were meant to take part.
The pair were meant to compete alongside Becky Lynch, Asuka, Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. to determine the top contender to go up against for Bianca Belair for the Raw women’s championship.
Instead, the bout was changed to a singles match between Lynch and Asuka. Asuka picked up the victory and will now face Belair at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event on June 5.
Following the match, WWE provided a statement on the walkout. According to WWE, Sasha Banks and Naomi duo was informed of their participation in the event and later walked into the head of talent relations’ office “with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out.”
WWE's statement on Sasha Banks and Naomi pic.twitter.com/DrNS84QfxX
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) May 17, 2022
“They claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions,” WWE continued. “And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence.
“Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract. We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight’s main event.”
Cris Cyborg dominated Arlene Blencowe in the main event of Bellator 279 on Saturday night, winning by unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45).
With the win, Cyborg defended her Bellator women’s featherweight title for the fourth straight time.
That fight was amazing! đź‘Ź
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) April 24, 2022
What a show from @criscyborg and @arleneangerfist.#Bellator279 is LIVE on @SHOsports. pic.twitter.com/wrRSQD1kJb
Cyborg overpowered her rival with a commanding performance in the first round before unleashing a leg kick and elbow to Blencowe’s face to secure the win in the second. Blencowe, with a bloodied face, pointed to the ground to indicate the end of the fight.
“You have to change every fight,” Cyborg said. “You have to improve and get a better game. Today, I showed a little more.”
Cyborg has just one loss, to Amanda Nunes in 2018, since her professional debut in 2005. The 36-year-old improved to 5-0 in Bellator with Saturday’s win.
Cat Zingano is opening up about what it’s like to be a trailblazer in her sport, with the 39-year-old becoming the first mother to compete in The UFC Octagon.
The MMA fighter is used to breaking new ground and shattering records as the first woman to win a UFC fight by TKO in 2013.
Zingano credits her success on the mat to her early days wrestling against boys. Known for her scrappy style, Zingano says she had to adjust her approach from the start in order to win. Though she was never as strong as her opponents, Zingano says she deployed her flexibility and center of gravity to beat the boys.
“I had to learn how to wrestle as a girl against guys and use the differences in my body to my advantage against the strengths in their body,” Zingano tells Whistle.
In October 2005, early on in Zingano’s professional campaign, her mother got sick and passed away. On the same day, Zingano found out she was pregnant with her son. That’s when the MMA fighter says everything changed.
“Brayden has been this gift to my life that has honestly saved my life a couple times,” Zingano says of her now teenage son. “What’s best for my kid has always ended up being what’s best for me.”
As a single mom, Zingano says she aims to fulfill multiple roles, introducing her son to wrestling and also preparing him for young adulthood.
“Parenting is so tricky,” she says. “It’s the most wonderful thing in the world, so rewarding and so hard sometimes.”
Holding onto her medals and memorabilia from an illustrious career, Zingano hopes to share the memories with her son after she retires.
Julianna Peña pulled off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history on Saturday night, dethroning Amanda Nunes with a second-round submission at UFC 269.
The bantamweight title fight was decided after three minutes and 26 minutes, with Peña going toe-to-toe with Nunes before dropping and locking her in a rear-naked chokehold.
JULIANNA PENA SHOCKS THE WORLD 🌎 #UFC269 pic.twitter.com/LNr4amWe94
— UFC (@ufc) December 12, 2021
“I told you,” Peña said after the fight. “Don’t ever doubt me again.”
Nunes started the fight strong, dropping Peña twice in the first round. Peña turned things around in the second round, landing 74 strikes, the second-most in a single round in bantamweight history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
“I have to go back to the gym, train hard and get the next one,” Nunes said after conceding to Peña.
Nunes has not lost since 2014, when she fell to Cat Zingano in a bantamweight title fight.
Rose Namajunas retained her strawweight title, defeating Zhang Weili in a split decision Saturday night. The contest served as a rematch of April’s UFC 261 fight, which Namajunas won via knockout.
Saturday’s affair was a much closer challenge, with two judges scoring it for Namajunas, 49-46 and 48-47, and another ruling in favor of Zhang, 48-47.
What. A. Fight.
— UFC (@ufc) November 7, 2021
How did you score it? đź“ť
[ #UFC268 | We’re LIVE on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/xRVlqJBhNX ] pic.twitter.com/G4Ws2QQR3S
Zhang started the fight with some early momentum, landing several leg kicks to hold off Namajunas. Later into the match, Namajunas began to shine, securing crucial takedowns in the late rounds.
“I had a feeling it was going to be a way tougher fight and she improved a lot,” Namajunas said of Zhang. “I give her some props and I know what I have to work on now.”
The fight marks the second consecutive loss for Zhang after a 21-bout winning streak.
Claressa Shields suffered the first loss of her professional fighting career on Wednesday, losing to Abigail Montes via split decision at the PFL’s annual championship.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist in boxing was fighting in just her second MMA bout. The loss is her first as a professional fight, having previously dropped a decision to Savannah Marshall in an Olympic boxing qualifier in 2012, when Shields was an amateur. Shields is 11-0 in her boxing career and is now 1-1 in MMA after adding the sport in 2020.
The judges were split in Wednesday’s bout, with one scoring the bout 29-28 for Shields but the other two judges scoring it 29-28 for Montes.
“I did better in there. I did pretty good on the cage,” Shields told ESPN after the bout. “It was always the ground stuff. Gotta get better at defending the takedown and stuff. The game plan was to just do better than my last fight. Of course to win [also], but do better.
“It continues to show us what we need to work on, and I worked damn hard in camp. I knew I would look better. It was the last round that did it for me. She went for the god damn takedown and I didn’t respond quick enough.”
Prior to the bout, Shields told Just Women’s Sports that she thought it would be a good matchup. She added that she couldn’t “wait to see” Montes try to out-strike her.
Shields won the first round on all three scorecards before suffering a takedown in the second and third rounds by Montes.
Previously, Shields made a successful MMA debut in June, winning with a third-round TKO against Brittney Elkin.
ONE: EMPOWER made history Friday night, featuring the first all-women’s fight card hosted by a major global martial arts organization.
In the evening’s main event, Xiong Jing Nan took down Michelle Nicolini via unanimous decision, defending her Reigning ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship.
Alyse Anderson of Michigan, participating in her first-ever ONE Championship event, fell to Itsuki Hirata via unanimous decision. Anderson was previously a nurse working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic before moving to MMA full time.
Jackie Buntan of California defeated Daniela Lopez via unanimous decision in Strawweight Muay Thai, improving her professional MMA record to 3-0.
Full ONE: EMPOWER results
Main Card
- Strawweight World Championship: Jing Nan defeats Michelle Nicolini via unanimous decision.
- Atomweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinal: Seo Hee Ham defeats Denice “Lycan Queen” Zamboanga via split decision.
- Atomweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinal: Stamp defeats Alyona Rassohyna via split decision.
- Atomweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinal: Ritu Phogat defeats Meng Bo via unanimous decision.
- Atomweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinal: Itsuki Hirata defeats Alyse Anderson via unanimous decision.
- Atomweight Kickboxing: Anissa Meksen defeats Cristina Morales via TKO at 2:27 of round two.
Lead Card
- Strawweight Muay Thai: Jackie Buntan defeats Daniela Lopez via unanimous decision.
- Atomweight World Grand Prix Alternate Bout: Julie Mezabarba defeats Mei “V.V” Yamaguchi via unanimous decision.
ONE: EMPOWER is set to kick off Friday in Singapore, featuring the first all-women’s fight card hosted by a major global martial arts organization.
Reigning ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jing Nan will look to defend her title against second-ranked strawweight contender Michelle Nicolini in the main event.
Alyse Anderson of Michigan, currently 5-1 professionally, will compete in her first ever ONE event. Previously a full-time nurse on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19, Anderson recently transitioned into MMA as her primary occupation. She’ll face Itsuki Hirata in one of four Atomweight World Grand Prix quarterfinals.
Jackie Buntan of California will meet Daniele Lopez on the lead card in ONE Super Series Muay Thai. Buntan is 2-0 in her professional MMA career, having defeated Wondergirl and Ekaterina Vandaryeva earlier this year.
Main card
ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship
- Xiong Jing Nan vs. Michelle Nicolini
Mixed Martial Arts – Atomweight World Grand Prix (Bout 8)
- Denice Zamboanga vs. Seo Hee Ham
Mixed Martial Arts – Atomweight World Grand Prix (Bout 7)
- Stamp Fairtex cs. Alyona Rassohyna
Mixed Martial Arts – Atomweight World Grand Prix (Bout 6)
- Meng Bo vs. Ritu Phogat
Mixed Martial Arts – Atomweight World Grand Prix (Bout 5)
- Itsuki Hirata vs. Alyse Anderson
Kickboxing (Bout 4)
- Anissa Meksen vs. Cristina Morales
Lead card
Muay Thai (Bout 3)
- Jackie Buntan vs. Daniela Lopez
Mixed Martial Arts – Atomweight World Grand Prix Alternate (Bout 2)
- Mei Tamaguchi vs. Julie Mezabarba
Mixed Martial Arts – Atomweight World Grand Prix Alternate (Bout 1)
- Winner of Bi Nguyen/Jenelyn Olsim vs. Grace Cleveland