Shevchenko defends throne at UFC 315 on big night for women’s flyweight
Valentina Shevchenko isn’t letting go of the women’s flyweight belt.
The UFC’s anticipated return to Montreal was a showcase night for the women’s 125-pound division and the queen of the flyweights defended her crown.
Valentina Shevchenko earned a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Manon Fiorot in the co-main event of UFC 315 presented by Skilled Trades College.
Shevchenko found early success with her counter right hook and a hard overhand right left Fiorot bleeding from the nose midway through the opening round.
Fiorot has solid grappling credentials and after being controlled on the ground late in Round 1 she put her size and strength on display both in the clinch and at range in Round 2 and returned the favour with a late takedown on Shevchenko. Fiorot would frequently press the smaller Shevchenko against the fence to accumulate control time — more than 90 seconds of control time in rounds two through five — yet she did not inflict much damage in the clinch and it resulted in the Montreal crowd occasionally booing the athlete from France.
The biggest single moment of the 25-minute scrap was when Shevchenko caught Fiorot with a series of piston right hands at the end of Round 4 that knocked Fiorot to her back.
Both women raised their hands when the final horn sounded after Round 5, and you could see in the champ’s eye’s she was confident she had done enough to defend the belt.
Shevchenko joined Amanada Nunes as the only other woman in UFC history with 10 or more UFC title fight victories. Nunes retired with 11 such victories. Jon Jones (16), Georges St-Pierre (13), Demetrious Johnson (12) and Anderson Silva (11) are the only other double-digit title fight winners.
Prior to UFC 315, the top of the women’s flyweight division had been tied up, so to speak, for more than two years as Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso completed a trilogy of consecutive bouts.
Grasso upset Shevchenko in March 2023, winning the title at UFC 285 with a dramatic fourth-round submission. The pair fought to a controversial split draw in their rematch six months later. Grasso retained the belt despite the majority of onlookers having Shevchenko winning. Shevchenko then became a two-time champion this past September when she swept the scorecards against Grasso at UFC 306.
Shevchenko snapped Fiorot’s 12-fight winning streak and may have gotten a sneak peek at her next challenger whilst she was in the back preparing for her fight.
Natalia Silva positioned herself for the next title shot in the division thanks to a standout performance earlier on the main card against Grasso who’s now winless in her past three.
Silva, 28, held a speed advantage over Grasso and a kick-heavy game plan that gave her Mexican opponent fits.
The Brazilian landed a nifty side kick to the face of Grasso in Round 1, showed in Round 2 she had the mettle to also stand in the pocket and trade with a skilled boxer like Grasso, and improved with each round.
Silva has a tricky style for opponents to deal with and has not lost a pro bout since 2017.
“That belt’s gonna look beautiful on me,” a smiley Silva said after her impressive victory that improved her UFC record to 7-0.
On the preliminary card, Canada’s Jasmine Jasudavicius proved why she also belongs in the same company as the four women mentioned above.
The St. Catharines, Ont., native left no doubts and made it look easy by tapping out former UFC strawweight champion and one-time flyweight title challenger Jessica Andrade in roughly half a round on the prelims.
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Andrade previously challenged Shevchenko for the flyweight title in back in 2021, getting stopped via TKO at UFC 261. That fight was one of Shevchenko’s seven title defences during her first championship reign.
Jasudavicius, 36, extended her winning streak to five in a row and has won seven of her past eight. She is now 14-3 as a pro with smothering grappling and relentless top control and pressure, and called for a No. 1 contender bout against a fellow ranked opponent later this year.
The popular Niagara Top Team member is now a jiu-jitsu black belt who has submitted three of her opponents on her current winning streak.
Jasudavicius holds notable wins over Miranda Maverick and one-time bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva.
One key aspect holding Jasudavicius from being closer to the front of the line currently is the fact one of her three losses was a unanimous decision to Silva three years ago. That bout with Jasudavicius was Silva’s first appearance in the UFC. Silva’s most recent win prior to UFC 315 was a unanimous decision Fight of the Night against Andrade this past September.
