Julianna Pena and Valentina Shevchenko clash in Denver, title shot likely for winner
Julianna Pena and Valentina Shevchenko clash in Denver, title shot likely for winner
Two top ranked UFC women’s bantamweights will clash next month in Denver, Colorado as number two ranked Valentina Shevchenko and number three ranked Julianna Pena (8-2) have just been announced to fight one another.
Pena and Shevchenko will meet in the UFC on FOX 23 main event on Saturday, Jan. 28. at Pepsi Center.
The winner of this fight will likely be next in line for a title shot given that their rankings are currently two and three.
Pena is undefeated since winning the Ultimate Fighter Season 18 and coming to the UFC. She most recently defeated Cat Zingano at UFC 200 but also has UFC wins over Jessica Eye, Milana Dudieva, and Jessica Rakoczy.
Shevchenko has three UFC fights to her credit, but dropped a controversial unanimous decision loss to now champion Amanda Nunes. She most recently has a unanimous decision win over former champion Holly Holm and started out her UFC career with a split decision win over Sarah Kaufman.
Shevchenko’s record does not sit well with Pena. She told us in September that she feels the rankings are not right. (This was when Shevchenko was ranked three and Pena was ranked four. Miesha Tate was still in the picture then).
“Ok, Dana…you know that you guys literally created a number three to jump ahead of me, to be number three, so you know it’s bull, you know it. This girl already lost to the champion. I already won the Ultimate Fighter. I’m the first female to win the Ultimate Fighter.”
Who will win on January 28?
