UFC Fight Night: Valentina Shevchenko and Julianna Peña kick off huge year for women's division

UFC welterweight and commentator Dan Hardy looks ahead to this weekend’s event in Denver, Colorado, headlined by a women’s bantamweight clash, with the winner potentially going on to fight for the title

Pena has lost both fights since a bad car accident (Getty)

The UFC’s women’s division had a huge year in 2016 and with the introduction of a female featherweight division in 2017 things are likely to get a whole lot more interesting. With the former bantamweight champion Holly Holm and top Dutch contender Germaine de Randamie lined up to fight for the inaugural 145lb title, this weekend’s bout between the number one and two ranked bantamweights will decide the next challenger for the current bantamweight queen, Amanda Nunes. After retiring Miesha Tate to win the title at UFC 200 and successfully defending it against the returning superstar Ronda Rousey, Nunes looks capable of holding the belt for a long time.

Two women sat inside the top 10 and watched the belt change hands three times and now they have their chance at a title shot. Rousey lost it to Holm back in November 2015; Holm was defeated by Tate in an amazing comeback performance at UFC 196; and Nunes looked more dominant than all of the above, as she stopped Tate with vicious boxing in the first round of their match up last July. She did exactly the same thing to Rousey in her title defence a few months later. What is interesting here is that both contenders in this weekend’s match-up should feel confident that they can offer more to Nunes in a five rounder than any of the former champions.

Valentina “The Bullet” Shevchenko is a very experienced striker with a lifetime of martial arts training. Beginning her journey in taekwondo with her mother and sister, Shevchenko soon progressed through the rankings and was keen to try something else. At the age of 12 she switched her focus to kickboxing and then the more aggressive form of striking arts, Muay Thai. Her professional kickboxing record stands at 61 professional bouts with only two defeats. She has also stopped 21 opponents before the final bell and at only 12 years old, she was knocking out an opponent 10 years her senior.

Shevchenko fought Amanda Nunes last year (Getty)

Her nickname, “The Bullet”, was given to her early on in her career by a coach that was astounded by her hand speed in competition, something that she has maintained throughout her campaign to the Octagon. The last loss on Shevchenko’s record came from a hard fought three-round decision loss to Nunes at UFC 196, before she went on to become the champion. Since that loss though she has bested former champion Holly Holm to remind people why she sits at the top of the division, out-ranked only by the champion herself. The wealth of martial arts experience that Shevchenko has acquired over 23 years of training stands her in good stead to learn from that loss and correct her mistakes.

Standing across the Octagon this weekend will be the bantamweight number two, Julianna Peña, a fiery and aggressive athlete that is as outspoken as she is determined to hold the belt in the near future. After winning her first four professional bouts inside the distance she was too keen to return after a bad car accident involving a drunk driver. Two months after the incident and still dealing with the health repercussions, Peña was back in competition, and it proved to be too soon. Following that, an attempt at the strawweight division didn’t pay off either and a 4-2 record was not befitting of the skills that she possessed.

An opportunity to enter The Ultimate Fighter house, on Season 18 of the UFC’s reality talent-spotting show, allowed Peña time to regroup and, under the watchful eyes of Team Tate, she was able to put three victories together and in an exciting first round battle, stopped Jessica Rakoczy to win the TUF 18 Finale and a six figure UFC contract. After a strong end to 2013 Peña would have to sit on the sidelines throughout 2014 with a knee injury, forcing her to watch as the division grew and new contenders emerged. Eager to get back into the mix, this forced lay-off was excellent motivation and upon her return in Spring 2015 she looked better than ever before.

It took only two wins in 2015 to get Peña a match-up with Cat Zingano at UFC 200 and over three rounds of fighting, she proved to everyone that she was a legitimate threat to the 135lb crown. The win over Zingano will also bolster her confidence should she get the win against Shevchenko and move on to fight Nunes for the belt. Zingano was the last fighter to defeat Nunes, at UFC 178 more than two years ago, after rallying in the second round and getting the TKO finish late in the third round. With a win over the last person to beat the current champion already under her belt, coupled with her naturally aggressive style, she could prove to be a real handful for Shevchenko.

Employing her striking skills against Peña would be the most obvious gameplan for Shevchenko, and with a wealth of knowledge in judo, she could force Peña to stand and trade. Peña has very competent grappling skills, picking up three submission wins in her early professional career, and then beating two of three opponents in the TUF house with neck attacks. I would think that a close range, scrappy fight would suit Peña down to the ground, and not give Shevchenko the space she needs to demonstrate her formidable striking arsenal.

Nunes awaits the winner (Getty)

This fight is a great example of how far women’s MMA has come since the UFC opened up the divisions. It hasn’t taken long for contenders to emerge and skill levels to improve, and these two women are a testament to that. Shevchenko definitely has the advantage in experience if we take into account her professional kickboxing career, but Peña has the enthusiasm of youth and a style that can overwhelm an opponent that leaves themselves vulnerable. These two women sit atop a card full of intriguing match-ups.

Two top 15 welterweights face off in the co-main as fan favourite, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal lock horns in what is sure to be a kickboxing extravaganza. I have a handful of fighters that I love watching and it’s very rare that I get to see them fight each other. This is one of my dream match-ups and I don’t expect it to let me or anyone else down. Before that bout we get to see the old guard taking on the new wave. Former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski has experienced a resurgence of late and at 37 years old, believes he has what it takes to hold the belt one more time.

Standing in his way is one of the scariest prospects in the weight class. Francis Ngannou not only looks like a terrifying opponent, but this strong, powerful athlete has looked like a destroyer of worlds since his UFC debut in December 2015. He stopped his first three UFC opponents with knockouts that surely registered on the Richter Scale and had Californians fleeing inland in panic. Then in his last outing seven weeks ago he locked in a kimura and cranked the shoulder of Anthony Hamilton, leaving him no choice but to tap in fear of injury.

Watch UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs Peña live on BT Sport 2 on Saturday from 10pm, or catch the Early Prelims exclusively on UFC Fight Pass from 9pm