NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 11: Miesha Tate reacts during UFC 205 Weigh-ins at Madison Square Garden on November 11, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Miesha Tate who is all set to return to the UFC this year has given her prediction for the UFC 261 clash between Valentina Shevchenko and Jessica Andrade.
Shevchenko will be defending her women’s flyweight championship for the fifth time, when she takes on the hard-as-nails Andrade on the 24th of April, this week.
Bullet Valentina has been an unstoppable force in the UFC, and barring Amanda Nunes, no one has come close to defeating the Kyrgyzstani. With her precise counter-striking, she will be looking forward to seeing off the powerful Andrade.
Shevchenko is coming off a victory against Jennifer Maia at UFC 255, winning via. unanimous decision, whereas her opponent Andrade is coming off a TKO win over Katlyn Chookagian (wherein she ended her two-fight skid).
With the fight only a few days away, Miesha Tate who is back in the UFC, gave her prediction for the fight in an interview with Schmo.
‘Cupcake’ claimed that there were a few holes in Shevchenko’s game, the last time she faced Maia at UFC 255, and went on to say that Andrade is a better fighter than Maia, and might give Shevchenko a really hard time.
Tate was quoted as saying:
“Valentina Shevchenko was – I wouldn’t say exposed in her last fight, but we saw some things we hadn’t seen before. I think Jessica Andrade can do it better than Maia. But I’m not gonna go as far as to say that ‘I think she will beat the champion’. But, I think she could definitely give her a really good run for her money, and definitely win some rounds. I could see her winning 2 rounds.”
Shevchenko has eased past almost all the opponents who have come her way. But the women’s flyweight champion has always found consensus women’s GOAT Amanda Nunes a tough nut to crack.
The pair have met twice (at UFC 196 and UFC 215, both in the bantamweight division). Nunes won the first bout quite easily, via. unanimous decision.
But, in the rematch, Bullet Valentina was a vastly improved fighter, as she came really close to beating the Brazilian, ultimately losing via. a narrow split decision.
As Nunes has been demolishing any opponent coming in her path, a trilogy fight between the two makes complete sense. The fight will definitely be on the cards if both the women continue steamrolling all their opponents.
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