Last night, the UFC touched down in The Mile-High City, Denver, Colorado, with UFC on Fox 23. This 12-fight card was an epic one, as a whopping eight of its bouts ended with stoppages, including the evening’s main event, which pitted Kyrgyzstani striker Valentina Shevchenko against American grappling specialist Julianna Peña.
In advance of this fight, the striking advantage seemed to rely firmly in the corner of Shevchenko, while Peña was believed to have an advantage on the mat. Ultimately, however, Shevchenko was able to showcase some real evolutions in her game, taking Peña down twice in the first round, and submitting her with a dazzling armbar in the second. The tap occurred at the 4:29 mark of the second frame.
With this win, Shevchenko extended her win-streak to two, as she out duelled former bantamweight champion and upcoming featherweight challenger Holly Holm in her second most recent fight. Her last loss occurred in March of 2016, when she gave up a close decision to Amanda Nunes, who she will now rematch for the UFC women’s bantamweight crown sometime in 2017. With her submission of Peña, the Kyrgyzstani talent is now 14-2 in sum.
In defeat, Peña returns to the loss column after four straight wins. Prior to her bout with Shevchenko, she had not lost inside the Octagon, defeating Jessica Rakoczy, Milana Dudieva, Jessica Eye and Cat Zingano in her first four bouts with the organization. She’s now 8-3 overall, and will have to impress with another big win or two before she’s talked about as a potential title challenger again.
Here’s how the MMA community reacted to Valentina Shevchenko’s surprising submission defeat of Julianna Peña.
Valentina looks bigger physically. Strong. Julianna has to change it up a little. Round 1 to Valentina
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) January 29, 2017
Grinding type of fight at elevation. Tough type of fight
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) January 29, 2017
The bullet with the submission!!!! Remaaaaattttttcccchhhhhh!!!! @BulletValentina
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) January 29, 2017
This woman is such an inspiration what a performance she's known for her striking but she's… https://t.co/SUd8UeRVrP
— Rose Namajunas (@rosenamajunas) January 29, 2017
Well I think it's safe to say, no1 expected a victory like that!! Congratulations @BulletValentina on a beautiful fight. #UFCDenver
— Corey 'Overtime' Anderson (@CoreyA_MMA) January 29, 2017
Wow!!! Didn't see that coming! @ufc
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) January 29, 2017
I did not guess Valentina was going to get the submission
— Leslie Smith (@LeslieSmith_GF) January 29, 2017
Oh shit muay thai girl submits submission artist!!
— James Vick (@JamesVickMMA) January 29, 2017
Shevchenko is a killer. Controlled her aggression and went in for the kill when she found her opening!! #UFCDenver #ufconfox @UFCONFOX
— Tyson Griffin (@TysonGriffin) January 29, 2017
Fuck Pena cost me
— Mike "Biggie" Rhodes (@TeamRocBiggie) January 29, 2017
Beautiful submission from @BulletValentina #BJJ #UFCDenver
— . (@jagatt) January 29, 2017
Super slick. #UFCDenver
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) January 29, 2017
Wowza! @BulletValentina! #UFCDenver
— Shannon Knapp (@shanknapp) January 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/julesk_fighter/status/825537529252290561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/thugjitsumaster/status/825537793564766214
Were you impressed by Valentina Shevchenko’s submission defeat of the dangerous Julianna Peña? How do you see her rematch with Amanda Nunes going? Sound off, PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/29/2017.