Valentina Shevchenko says she left her 'heart and soul' in Octagon at UFC 275 | ESPN MMA

Valentina Shevchenko speaks with Megan Olivi backstage at UFC 275 after her split-decision victory against Taila Santos. Shevchenko says she came into the fight with an injured foot and breaks down the challenge Santos provided.

#UFC #UFC275 #Shevchenko

[tzarleonardi]

Exactly what she needed to improve even further. Good defence by the champ

[sportsfan_]

She outstruck Santos by 143 strikes. I'll give you control but Round 2 for me was the swing round & Santos didn't do anything with the control. I agree with 48-47 Valentina.

[daddyethan]

"CONTROL DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING YOU" - fans 2 weeks ago watching holm vs viera, "BUT SHE CONTROLLED HER SO MUCH" fans today watching this

[danb]

Santos is big, tough, strong, crafty, but did literally zero damage before or after the headbutt

[aremayo]

Damage and effective offensive grappling score, the rest is filler.
Valentina had the more effective offense in rounds 2, 4, 5.

[jameszino]

A true champion she got it done on a bad day but taila was amazing❤

[DetricBelectrical]

I hate the vibe they are giving her because someone gave her a battle. SHE WON! PERIOD!! Valentina is a great champ. For DC to say she lost was really lame. It’s not it was the main event close.

[sportsfan_]

She was definitely exposed in the way of if she can't physically control her opponent it takes away a large part of her game. Tho her striking was levels above Santos'

[LilBryce]

Shevchenko is still the baddest woman on the planet folks👌

[MrJrio]

She broke the ufc plan, good for her, we all see it, we see the machine and how they do. Great job goddess.

[JAG]

I had 2, 4, 5 for Valentina. Yes, Santos was in top control for all of round 2 but faced 3 sub attempts and absorbed a lot of strikes from the bottom with no answer. That’s the only reason why I gave Valentina the win.

Edit: The fence grab deserves a warning, not a point deduct. Sub attempts and strikes from the bottom are more important than top control with no output. Look at Ferguson x Castillo as an example.

[MrPoolmaster]

The judge that scored it 49-46 for her needs to be locked up in prison and never be let out

[MrStargates]

Valintina scraped in. You have to defeat the champion convincingly-sadly Santos got slaughterd in the last round. Plus even on bottom the ammount of strikes Valintina landed were lopsided. CORRECT DESISCION BUT CLOSE.

[efiraroofing]

Congrats champ! That was a close fight for both of them! Taila succeded on her grounding game for taking valentina down, but not succeeding for submitting her completely! Thats the power of the champion controlling the opponent to damage her.

[Harly]

Not to take anything from santos she’s an amazing grappler but Valentina seemed off. Valentina is still the most well rounded female. They will forsure see each other again

[PokéSSJ]

That headbutt was the difference maker, she wasn’t connecting till Santos’ eye swelled up and even then Santos’ still had nothing but successful take down attempts.

[parimalshivaji]

Wasn't best day for Valentina...but she will be back stronger...She has heart of a lion...and crazy hard worker...
I wish best for her

[Cucumberdrx]

The judge that gave Valentina 4 rounds was smoking crack

[Razear]

It's exciting to see the skills gap slowing closing between her and her opponents because you really get to see what she's made of in moments of adversity.

[gp]

I’m glad she was pushed to this level. She now knows that these new contenders won’t be as easy as the last batch. It’s fights like the one with Santos that really define just how good she is. She faced adversity and still came out victorious.
Val is now in her prime and I think we are going to see the best Bullet yet