Did Valentina Shevchenko Defeat Women’s MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes at UFC 215?

Valentina Shevchenko will once again defend her flyweight title against Jennifer Maia at UFC 255. ‘The Bullet’ is arguably one of the best female fighters to ever compete in the sport of MMA as it stands today.

However, a certain pair of losses that stand on her résumé prevent her from being the consensus GOAT. That title sits with her rival, the 2-division champion Amanda Nunes.

The aforementioned women faced off on two occasions, and their first meeting went to Nunes rather handily. However, their second meeting at UFC 215 still stands as one of the most contentious title fights in UFC history.

A large faction of the MMA community continues to debate the notion that Valentina Shevchenko was robbed of the 135-pound title. Not to mention, a chance to hold 2 belts in different weight classes.

UFC 215: Amanda Nunes vs Valentina Shevchenko

The scrap came in as a closely contested affair with several moments of high-level exchanges. However, both fighters exhibited a certain amount of hesitation to engage, presumably after testing the power of the other in the first fight.

No particular moment or flurry sticks out in the minds of the fans that would help to narrow down a clear-cut winner.

The general consensus is that rounds 1, 4, 5 went to the champion, Amanda Nunes; however, the final round is where things got interesting.

Valentina Shevchenko began coming into her own on the feet in Round 5, but Nunes secured a critical late-takedown. However, ‘The Lioness’ failed to mount any ground offense and merely dragged the fight to the canvas.

What’s more, the overall hesitation to let their hands go made this contest incredibly difficult to score. ‘The Bullet’ appeared to be the more active fighter as she scooted around the cage off a powerful jab.

Furthermore, the damage she put forth was being worn on the face of Amanda Nunes. This is perhaps the main reasoning behind her vehement protest once the scorecards were read.

However, visible damage isn’t necessarily a metric that goes a long way in terms of official scoring.

Once the curtains were drawn on UFC 215 in Edmonton, Alberta, ‘The Lioness’ left the cage with her gold strap. Chiefly, she consistently peppered Shevchenko with leg kicks and body strikes that paid dividends on the scorecards.

Nunes won the total significant strikes battle 86-72 and pulled away with the split decision win. As the challenger, Valentina perhaps didn’t lay it all on the line, thus preventing her from securing the ‘W’.