Shevchenko vs Santos UFC 275 preview & best bets – June 11, 2022

Valentina Shevchenko will be looking for her seventh-straight defense of the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship when she faces Taila Santos in the co-main event of UFC 275. This bout is one of two championship fights on the card, the other being Glover Teixeira vs Jiri Prochazka in the main event.

Women’s Flyweight: Valentina Shevchenko (-550) vs Taila Santos (+400)

Valentina Shevchenko (22-3-0) continued her recent string of dominance with two successful championship defenses in 2021, knocking out Jessica Andrade in the second round at UFC 261 and knocking out Lauren Murphy in the fourth round at UFC 266. Amanda Nunes’s recent loss to Juliana Pena has perhaps re-opened the conversation about who the best female fighter of all time is. While Shevchenko has lost her two head-to-head fights against Nunes, she performed well in both and was going up in weight class both times; she’s still got a case that she’s the best pound-for-pound women’s fighter in the world.

Taila Santos (19-1-0) has earned this title shot with an impressive run through the flyweight division. Santos lost her UFC debut to Mara Romero Borella by split decision to suffer the only blemish on her professional record to date, but she has bounced back with four straight wins since then including a first-round submission victory over Joanne Wood in November. Shevchenko has already defeated all of the other flyweights currently ranked higher than Santos, so why not give the 28-year-old a shot?

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Juliana Pena’s upset win over Amanda Nunes last year reminded us all that even those that look invincible in the fight game can falter on the wrong night. You never know when that wrong night is going to come, but there just isn’t any indication of it whatsoever coming from Shevchenko. Her nearly flawless form both standing up and on the mat make it difficult to find any path to victory for her opponents.

Santos looks the part of a legitimate contender, but she hasn’t faced anyone close to the caliber of Shevchenko to date. She’s also never been in a five-round championship fight before. And with five of her last six fights being decided by decision, she doesn’t figure to possess the tools to pull of a stunning knockout or submission win over a fighter as good as Shevchenko. There isn’t much value on her as a massive favorite, but look for the champion to get the job done yet again.

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