Valentina dominates Jessica Bate-Estaca, wins and keeps UFC 261 belt

V. Shevchenko defeated J. Bate-Estaca and retained the flies’ belt in the UFC 261. Photo: Playback / Instagram

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It didn’t work for Brazil. In the first belt dispute of the UFC 261, held this Saturday (24), in Jacksonville (USA), Valentina Shevchenko enforced favoritism and gave no chance to Jessica Andrade, the Bate-Stake. With a dominant performance, the Kyrgyz woman did not give chances to Parana and left the octagon with a knockout in the second round, maintaining the title of the flies (up to 56.7 kg.).

A favorite at bookmakers, Valentina once again proved to be a complete athlete. Abusing the grappling fight, the champion put pressure on the Brazilian from start to finish, knocking her rival down again and again.

With the result, the Kyrgyz woman won her fifth belt defense. Since she went down to the flies, the athlete has not known what it is to lose. The victory expands the athlete’s hegemony in the group.

Beaten on the main card, Bate-Estaca had the dream of winning his second title in the postponed organization. Ex-champion of straw (up to 52.1 kg.), The paranaense could join the select group of athletes who won two titles in the company.

The fight

The confrontation started with Valentina taking the initiative with a low kick. Jessica responded with a jab, which stopped at the champion’s guard. Shevchenko touched the Brazilian’s face with a combination of punches. Stakeholder tried to get into the Kyrgyz woman’s reach, but the champion was attentive. A little over a minute later, Valentina clung to the Brazilian and took the duel to the ground. Andrade got up quickly, but the champion was still ‘glued’ to the challenger’s back. Stakeholder managed to break free, but received a high kick from the opponent. Shevchenko took advantage of the greater scope and touched the Paraná woman more easily. Jessica tried to pressure her rival against the bars, but the champion again brought down the Brazilian. On Andrade’s back, the champion sought a choke, but the Brazilian defended herself well. The champion continued to press and did not give space to Bate-Estaca. In the final seconds, Shevchenko dropped the challenger again, but there was no more time.

In the second stage, Jessica continued to try to shorten the distance. The Brazilian sought a takedown, but ended up knocked down in the counterattack. Above, the champion pressed the Paraná, who could not react. Showing a lot of race, Bate-Estaca stood up and the duel started to be played on the grid. Acting safely, Valentina again took the Brazilian to the ground. In an advantage position, Shevchenko blocked the Brazilian’s arms and began to punish the Brazilian’s face. Andrade tried to defend himself, but the confrontation ended up being interrupted.

UFC 261 results

CARD PRINCIPAL

Welterweight: Kamaru Usman defeated Jorge Masvidal by knockout at 1m02s from R2 – Fight for the belt

Straw weight: Rose Namajunas defeated Zhang Weili by knockout at 1m18s of R1 – Fight for the belt

Fly weight: Valentina Shevchenko defeated Jessica Stake by technical knockout at 3m19s from R2 – Fight for the belt

Average weight: Uriah Hall defeated Chris Weidman by technical knockout at 17sec. of R1

Light heavyweight: Anthony Smith defeated Jimmy Crute by technical knockout 5m from R1

CARD PRELIMINAR

Welterweight: Randy Brown finished Alex Cowboy with a choke 2m50s from R1

Welterweight: Dwight Grant defeated Stefan Sekulic in the split decision of the judges (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Average weight: Brendan Allen finished Karl Roberson with a heel wrench 4m55s from R1

Featherweight: Pat Sabatini defeated Tristan Connelly in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Gallic weight: Danaa Batgerel defeated Kevin Natividad by technical knockout at 50sec. of R1

Lightweight: Kazula vargas defeated Rongzhu by unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 30-26, 29-28)

Fly weight: Jeff Molina defeated Aoriqileng in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-27, 29-28)

Straw weight: Ariane Smile defeated Na Liang by technical knockout 1m28s from R2

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