UFC 207: Amanda Nunes Now Awaits Pena/Shevchenko Winner

Despite being the champion, Amanda Nunes remained the underdog against Ronda Rousey in their bantamweight title bout at UFC 207. At the end of the day, though, she walked out victorious after an incredibly quick and decisive TKO victory over Rousey.

For the first time since Ronda herself was the champion, the UFC women’s bantamweight belt was successfully defended and was done so in a rather Rousey-esque fashion: mere seconds into the first round. Nunes left little doubt who was the better fighter.

Now that Nunes sits uncontested atop that division, the question now becomes “who’s next?” The last two champions before her are now gone, with Holly Holm moving up to featherweight and fighting for the inaugural title, and Miesha Tate retiring.

That question is likely to be answered January 28, as #2 ranked Valentina Shevchenko goes up against #3 ranked Julianna Pena, in which the winner will surely end up with the next crack at Nunes. There are certainly arguments to be made that either of these two fighters should have gotten a title fight before Rousey, as Shevchenko handily defeated Holly Holm in her last fight, and with Pena riding a four-fight winning streak and holding an undefeated record in the UFC (4-0).

Pena even felt so strongly that she should have received the fight before Rousey, that she said she had considered leaving the UFC when her contract is up, and who could blame her?

After winning The Ultimate Fighter as a member of Team Tate, she’s been thoroughly dominant with a first-round TKO victory over Milana Dudieva, and two unanimous decision victories over Jessica Eye and Cat Zingano.

For Shevchenko, while she is not on the kind of hot streak Pena is, her overall career speaks for itself. With a 13-2 professional record (2-1 UFC), and victories over Holm and Sarah Kaufman, Shevchenko has skyrocketed into contention in the women’s-135 division.

What makes a potential matchup between Nunes and Shevchenko interesting, is that it has already happened before. At UFC 196 this past March, Nunes took a unanimous decision victory, and subsequently went on to beat Tate for the title.

Should Valentina get another crack at the champ, she would likely stand a better chance should the fight remain standing, than most fighters would against Nunes. Her deep Muay Thai, boxing and Taekwondo backgrounds will serve her well if she can take control of the fight.

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Earlier in her career through, Shevchenko proved to be quite the submission expert, finishing five of her first seven fights by sub. Should the fight go to the ground, this would make one think that could hold her own against Nunes who has a very strong Jiu-Jitsu background.

If Pena should get the next fight against Nunes, that could shape up to be an incredible ground war, as both excel in BJJ. While it would not be ideal for Pena to keep the fight standing up, she has shown that is capable of standing and throwing, with three of her eight victories coming by way of TKO.

Whether or not either one of these fighters will be able to dethrone Nunes is one thing. With the dominating manner in which she’s won her last two fights, we could be in store for another Rousey-like title reign. But perhaps the best thing that has come out of Nunes winning and defending the title, as well as this upcoming title eliminator, is that it’s shown that this division is as strong as ever, and can continue to survive without Ronda holding it up as she once did.