Former women's bantamweight Champion, Holly "The Preachers Daughter" Holm (10-1) will go against #7 ranked Muay Thai artist, Valentina "Bullet" Shevchenko (12-2) on July 23rd in Chicago as the main event on the card.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VALENTINA SHEVCHENKO
Without a doubt I will say it right now, this is going to be a battle. We might not have seen a great amount from Valentina this year besides when she fought Amanda Nuñes, who is now the current women's bantamweight Champion during UFC 196, but she IS here now.
Shevchenko and "The Lioness" fought all the way until the end. Even though she lost by a decision from the judges, her Muay Thai skills were fantastic.
She comes from a martial arts family and she is a Kyrgyzstani kickboxer. Her strikes are great, but would she settle for a takedown? Most likely not, however, she knows how to defend herself, ust like "The Preachers Daughter".
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT HOLLY HOLM
Holly Holm isn't a wrestler. Everyone knows she retired from being a (33-2-3) boxing record with 9 of those being KO's. She is probably the best striker inside the women's bantamweight division STILL (even more than Nuñes) in my opinion. What is special is that her kickboxing technique. She can KO you out with her fists. And her kicks...
JUST LOOK AT RONDA ROUSEY...
SO WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT ALL OF THIS?!?
You can't deny the power. On top of that, Holm has almost 90% defense on the ground. It would be ideal for these fighters to keep it standing and possibly see who is going to knock each other out first. BUT Shevchenko is known to come at you first. It will be interesting to see how she will train to go against a fighter like Holm.
They both have redemption to face. Not with each other, but with both their recent loss inside of the octagon this year. Neither of these ladies wants to make of mistake because in ways they are rather similar. It is going to go down to who wants it more. I suppose July 23rd can't come soon enough.
And my vote is going to MISS Holly Holm. It will be a brawl, but her hand will be getting raised at the end of the night.