Jordan Griffit
Student Sports Media
UFC 215 is officially in the books with not many surprises except for the main event. That would be Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko on Saturday, Sept. 9 with a good fight, but with a clear winner of the contest in Shevchenko, but that was not the case. Nunes retained the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title by split decision. Shevchenko landed more strikes overall and controlled the fight on the ground with her strikes.
The fact is that a fight that was controlled by a fighter who also outstruck her opponent 19 strikes is a crime. Shevchenko was visibly upset after the decision and pleaded her case during the post-fight interview.
Nunes is a fantastic fighter, but she pulled out of the previous fight 24 hours before because of a bad weight cut. That’s not what champions do; they show up to fight every time their number is called. She claimed that she was ill, but many including UFC President Dana White didn’t buy it.
Bottom line is that Shevchenko deserved it by showing up both times and simply, winning the scrap.
Keep an eye out for Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens as he completely dominated the always tough Gilbert Melendez in the Featherweight bout. He knocked down Melendez five times, which is unheard of against a guy with a chin like Melendez has.
That was by far the most impressive fight that we have seen from Stephens in his veteran career. He outlanded Melendez by 71 strikes while also using the leg kicks, which is uncommon from a sprawl and brawl fighter like Stephens. We will have to see where “Lil Heathen” goes from here in the stacked featherweight division.
Look forward to UFC 216 and the main event is a interesting one with Tony Ferguson facing off against Kevin Lee. There is no possible way that Lee deserved the shot against Ferguson who has been at the top of the dividend for a few years now.
I see a fight that will not be rather close, but if Lee wins this fight, he will muck it up. He’s going to wrestling with Ferguson and try to keep him on the mat. I just do not see that happening, so I am predicting a third round knockout by Ferguson.
Fights to Watch:
Lando Vannata (9-2) vs. Bobby Green (23-8)
Paige VanZant (7-3) vs. Jessica Eye (11-6)