Michael Bisping thought Valentina Shevchenko was in jeopardy of losing her title to Taila Santos at UFC 275 this past Saturday.
For the first time since winning the UFC flyweight championship over three years ago, Shevchenko was truly tested by a challenger. ‘Bullet’ found herself in several bad positions after being taken down and controlled on the ground by Santos, who accomplished the rare feat of winning rounds against the usually impenetrable champion. However, the tide turned in the final rounds as Shevchenko started getting the better of Santos.
As the judges’ scorecards were read, it became clear just how close the fight was, but Shevchenko got the nod by split decision for her seventh consecutive defense.