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Valentina Shevchenko was pushed to the limit by Taila Santos during their women's flyweight title clash that co-headlined the UFC 275 pay-per-view event on Saturday.
The dominant champion, who's hardly been tested inside the octagon in the 125lbs division thus far, was close to being submitted on several occasions during the fight.
The fight turned out to be an intriguing technical battle between two fighters who brought out the best in each other on the night.
Although the Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian fighter stood her ground on the feet and got the better of Santos in most of the striking exchanges during the fight, it was the Brazilian who dominated the fight on the ground.
Both women scored three takedowns each, but Santos scored with 100 percent accuracy and managed to secure three submission attempts.
While both fighters managed to take each other down during the bout, it was Santos who made the most of the fight going to the ground. After five rounds, the judges scored the bout in favor of Shevchenko via split decision and the crowd in attendance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, didn't seem too happy with the decision.
Watch the highlights from the fight below:
What's next for Valentina Shevchenko?
Valentina Shevchenko has already established herself as the greatest women's flyweight champion of all time. With the win over Santos, which happened to be her seventh successful title defense in the UFC, the 34-year-old has established herself as one of the greatest female fighters to have ever graced the octagon.
Having run through the entire flyweight division already, one wonders what could intrigue the champ next? Will she yet again move up to the women's bantamweight division in a bid to capture the 135lbs throne against the winner of a potential rematch between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena?
If she wants to, UFC president Dana White said he'll try to get the fight booked. In an interaction with The Underground ahead of the recently concluded UFC 275 pay-per-view, White said:
"I respect her so much, whatever she wants to do, I’m down. She can keep defending the title. She can fight Julianna [Peña], she can fight Amanda [Nunes]. Whatever she wants to do, if she wants it bad enough, I’ll try to make it happen."
Watch the full interview with Dana White below:
Let us know what you think is next for Valentina Shevchenko in the comments.
