Valentina Shevchenko has settled nicely into her throne atop the UFC women’s flyweight division. On Saturday, Shevchenko disposed of Jessica Andrade with relative ease. The fight, which ended at 3:19 of the second round, was the fifth title defense for the 33-year-old Shevchenko.
Heading into the fight, which took place on the pay-per-view portion of UFC 261, UFC president Dana White said of Andrade, “She’s a real problem for Shevchenko that (Shevchenko is) going to have to figure out…” Shevchenko seemed to have Andrade figured out before the referee signaled the start of the fight.
Shevchenko overwhelmed Andrade in every aspect of the fight game. She negated Andrade’s power by keeping her at the end of her strikes. Shevchenko showed that Andrade’s vaunted strength was of no concern by stopping her takedown attempts. Then, as if to cement that point, Shevchenko landed each of her seven takedown attempts. As for her accuracy, the champion connected on 32 of 39 significant striking attempts for a landing percentage of 82 percent. Shevchenko ended the fight on the ground, opening a wound on Andrade’s forehead with strikes from the crucifix.
After the win, Shevchenko seemed to address White’s pre-fight words when she said that maybe fighters need to figure her out and not the other way around.
“Why my opponents can’t figure out what the weakness of mine is?” Shevchenko said. “(Because) there is no weakness.”
After the nearly flawless performance Shevchenko delivered on Saturday, it’s hard to argue with that statement.
With the win, Shevchenko added her name to the UFC women’s flyweight record book in a few categories and improved on some others. Below is a list of the records the defending champ owns in the division and where she stood before UFC 261.
Valentina Shevchenko UFC flyweight records
| Category | Pre-UFC 261 | Post-UFC 261 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Pre-UFC 261 | Post-UFC 261 |
| Wins | Tied for first with six | First with seven |
| KO Wins | Tied for first with two | First with three |
| Winning Streak | First at six | First at seven |
| Title Fight Wins | First with five | First with six |
| Fight Night Bonuses | Tied for third with one | Tied for first with two |
| Control Time | Third at 41:58 | First at 47:09 |
| Bottom Position Time | First at 2:30 | First at 2:30 |
| Bottom Position Percentage | First at 2.48 percent | First at 2.29 percent |
| Significant Striking Accuracy | First at 54.7 percent | First at 56.4 percent |
| Strikes Absorbed Per Minute | First at 1.52 | First at 1.49 |
| Total Strikes Landed | Third with 775 | First at 865 |
| Takedowns Landed | First with 18 | First with 25 |
| Takedown Accuracy | First at 64.3 percent | First at 71.4 percent |
UFC 261 took place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+ and early prelims on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass.
Below are the final fight stats for Shevchenko vs. Andrade.
UFC 261: Shevchenko vs. Andrade
| Stats | Valentina Shevchenko | Jessica Andrade |
|---|---|---|
| Stats | Valentina Shevchenko | Jessica Andrade |
| Knockdowns | 0 | 0 |
| Sig. Strikes Landed | 32 | 10 |
| Total Strikes Landed | 90 | 47 |
| Sig. Strike Landing Percentage | 82 | 66 |
| Takedowns Landed | 7 | 0 |
| Submission Attempts | ` | 0 |
| Sig Strikes Landed Head | 27 | 2 |
| Sig Strikes Landed Body | 3 | 8 |
| Sig Strikes Landed Leg | 2 | 0 |
| Sig Strikes Landed Distance | 9 | 4 |
| Sig Strikes Landed Clinch | 5 | 6 |
| Sig Strikes Landed Ground | 18 | 0 |
| Control Time | 5:11 | 0:57 |