Daniel Cormier didn’t expect to see numerous errors from Valentina Shevchenko in her past two UFC title fights.
Former flyweight champion Shevchenko (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) edged out Taila Santos by split decision at UFC 275 in a fight where she was controlled on the ground and had her back taken. Her next title defense came against Alexa Grasso (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) in this past Saturday’s UFC 285 co-main event, but this time Shevchenko’s mistakes cost her as she was submitted by Grasso after having her back taken in Round 4.
“I never thought I would see Valentina Shevchenko making consistent mistakes,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “She made mistakes in the last fight against Taila (Santos), trying to score takedowns and rushing them, and she made mistakes tonight. Ultimately, the biggest mistake was trying that spinning back kick from in close.
“The last person I remember doing that was Chris Weidman trying an ill-advised spin kick against Luke Rockhold, got himself taken down and beaten up, which ultimately led to Luke becoming the champion. Same thing tonight. When Grasso saw that spinning kick, which she said she trained for, she jumped on her back like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and she went crazy trying to chase the finish.”
Due to her dominant title reign, Shevchenko is expected to get an immediate rematch. Although Grasso got the finish on the ground, Cormier said she needs to improve her takedown defense if she wants to retain her title.
“She struggled in the takedown defense, and if she’s going to extend this title reign, she will have to shore that up,” Cormier said. “But she was taken down multiple times but continued to fight. Every time she got to her feet, she did a great job of landing on Shevchenko to the point that Valentina started to make mistakes.”
He continued, “She squeezed so much that she squeezed the color out of Valentina Shevchenko’s face. … She didn’t have it under the chin, but she got enough pressure going forward into the jawline that it made a woman that had held that belt essentially from its inception tap instead of just going out. That’s painful.”
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