Valentina Shevchenko once again successfully defending the UFC women's flyweight title, soundly defeating challenger Liz Carmouche in the UFC Uruguay main event.
Entering Saturday night, Carmouche was one of only two women who have defeated Shevchenko (the other being Amanda Nunes twice). But that win came all the way back in 2010 and both fighters have come a long way since then — particularly Shevchenko, who is now considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC.
Both fighters showed great poise throughout the match, with neither getting overaggressive early on. Both fighters even seemed hesitant to open themselves up to do much damage.
A lack of action early on caused the crowd to grow a little restless, but Shevchenko was fighting a tactical game. Her approach was one of defensive strategy, waiting for the right moments to open up with fast and crisp combinations.
In the third round, Shevchenko scored her first takedown, but it didn't seem to phase Carmouche who seemed comfortable on her back. The fight returned to the mat in round four with Shevchenko in control on top. Once again, little damage was done to Carmouche aside from the growing advantage to Shevchenko on the judges' scorecards. Round five was more of the same with Shevchenko defending a takedown attempt and once again establishing the dominant position on the mat, leaving little hope for a comeback attempt for Carmouche.
Valentina Shevchenko didn't submit or knock out Liz Carmouche but it was still a dominant performance by the flyweight champion, now 18-3.