In a sport where ‘anything can happen,’ we had a foregone conclusion at UFC Belem.
A promotional newcomer was matched up against a number one contender on Sunday morning and the fight played out exactly as most people expected.
Number one-ranked women’s bantamweight Valentina Shevchenko dominated Priscila Cachoeira, who was making her UFC debut. ‘Bullet’ lit her up on the feet, took her down with ease, completely controlled her on the ground, beat her up from the top position and finally put her out of her misery with a second-round rear-naked choke.
According to Fightmetric’s unofficial stats, Shevchenko outstruck her opponent by 217-1.
TAP CITY! Valentina Shevchenko puts on an absolutely dominant performance and submits Priscila Cachoeira at #UFCBelem! https://t.co/pnRJ69rxMn
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 4, 2018
The Ref
Dana White took aim at Mario Yamasaki for allowing the beatdown to continue for so long. Undoubtedly, the referee deserves part of the blame. Credit to Yamasaki, he owned up to his mistakes in a statement. He admitted that he should have intervened once Shevchenko secured the crucifix and after the first tap.
However, justifying keeping the fight going because Cachoeira responded to his calls for movement on the ground is a bit harder to stomach when the skill disparity is that great. Sure, Cachoeira proved her toughness in the fight, but she was overwhelmed on the ground by a far superior grappler.
Her attempted escapes weren’t technical and were easily countered. While Yamasaki argues that he allowed Cachoeira to ‘keep fighting,’ all he really did was prolong the punishment she had to endure.
Her face looked like hamburger meat #UFCBelem https://t.co/2Ut3aXf9be
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 4, 2018
The Team
While it’s not an uncommon practice, Cachoeira’s corner failing to throw in the towel reflects poorly on them. Especially after her coach told her to ‘shut up’ when she informed them she had blown out her knee in the first round. The injury turned out to be ACL and meniscus tears that will require surgery.
Cachoeira has since defended her team on Instagram. However, her performance in the second round indicated that she wasn’t receiving any technical help from her corner on how to escape from terrible positions. She had no answer for anything and by the looks of it, her corner was unable to provide her with any. While her toughness was admirable, it was never going to be enough to win this contest.
“This is not master and student, it’s father and daughter, and no one can say how he should treat me. And about throwing in the towel, this is PRVT and we’re the ones that know our limits. Throwing in the towel, never.”
https://twitter.com/punchdrunkpauly/status/960632773730971648
The Promotion
The bulk of the blame really falls on the promotion’s shoulders. This fight should have never happened. Shevchenko being a -900 favourite against an undefeated prospect was an immediate red flag.
While mismatches will occur more frequently in a new division due to a lack of talent, it’s difficult to believe that Cachoeira was the best available option. Her record is impressive, one quick look at some of her fights on YouTube confirms that she is lightyears behind Shevchenko everywhere.
We’ve had unfortunate situations where newcomers have debuted against top contenders in the past. Darrell Horcher vs Khabib Nurmagomedov, Lando Vannata vs Tony Ferguson and Joe Soto vs TJ Dillashaw come to mind. However, all the prior fights were booked because of late notice withdrawals. This one was done by design. It was booked in December.
Invicta have a plethora of flyweights that could slot right into the division. For some reason, they just haven’t been dipping into that talent pool to help build the weight class.
UFC, stop signing pretty records and faces. Sign some serious flyweights instead. https://t.co/kwQUbg5W48
— Aga Niedzwiedz (@NiedzwiedzMMA) February 4, 2018
The Fighters
What did either fighter gain from this bout? Cachoeira reached the promised land of the UFC, but it came at a cost. Her toughness is unquestionable, but so is her ability to be competitive with the UFC’s elite. As long as Shevchenko is in the weight class, she doesn’t stand a chance of winning the belt.
This was clearly a showcase fight for Shevchenko. All the UFC’s social media posts after this fight have highlighted how terrifying she looked in this massacre. Beyond getting a win at 125 lbs, she didn’t really progress much. Also, the finish was also a nice addition considering the bulk of her UFC fights have gone the distance.
She brutally beat up a regional fighter. Just as everyone expected her to.
