Women’s Flywight
Priscila Cachoeira (8-0) vs. Valentina Shevchenko (14-3)ODDS: Shevchenko (-900), Cachoeira (+600)
ANALYSIS: These are the longest odds on the card by far and with good reason. Cachoeira is a fine signing, but for a fighter of her style and experience to debut in the UFC against Shevchenko, a former bantamweight title challenger moving down to her preferred weight class at 125 pounds, it is not being thrown into deep water so much as being drowned in it. This is a showcase fight in every sense of the word for Shevchenko, and it should look that way.
Shevchenko was one ill-advised takedown attempt in the fifth round away from becoming women’s bantamweight champion in her rematch with Amanda Nunes at UFC 215 in September. She is a truly elite talent, a legitimately accomplished kickboxer with a varied clinch game that includes throws and reaps, as well as a serious offensive grappling game; and she is a crafty southpaw. She is not without her faults, as she can be overly patient at times, relying too steadfastly on clever counters and her opponent’s aggression to create her own offense. Believe me, though, if Cachoeira fights like she normally does, Shevchenko can have target practice.
The undefeated Brazilian is every bit a stereotype of her homeland’s muay Thai style, perhaps even with less kicking. The near entirety of her game is slangin’ and bangin’, with no head movement, no chin protection and with punches that swirl in loops like she is doing a drunken Jack Dempsey roll. To be sure, the Parana Vale Tudo fighter has a rugged chin and a ton of power, but her striking is so devoid of anything resembling sound defense that she seems like an absolutely perfect target to be lit up by the far more precise, technically apt and well-rounded Shevchenko.
The Kyrgyz “Bullet” either stops Cachoeira via accumulation of blows or submission in the latter half of the contest and may instantly vault herself into a title fight with inaugural women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano.
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