Preview: UFC on Fox – Holm vs. Shevchenko

This Saturday night former bantamweight champion Holly Holm takes on Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC on Fox main event. Both fighters are coming in to this fight on the back of losses, with Holm losing the first defence of her title to Miesha Tate back in March and Shevchenko losing to the current champion, Amanda Nunes on the same event.

Both of these fighters are also known for their striking skills, with Holm being a former boxing champion before her crossover to MMA and Schevchenko holding an accomplished kick boxing record as well as competing in pro boxing. The matchmaking behind this fight seems to suggest that the UFC will be hoping for a barn burner between arguably two of the best female strikers at 135lbs, however stylistically that may not be the case. Holm is a typical southpaw who likes to keep her opponents at the end of her jab. She also likes to throw strikes in volume, although the majority of these strikes don’t land, they’re usually enough to keep her opponents at distance for her to land her left head kick which is what won her the title from Ronda Rousey. Shevchenko on the other hand is a counter striker and likes her opponents to pressure her before picking them apart whilst they’re moving forward and unlike Holm, Shevchenko will throw less strikes at her opponents but is far more accurate with the strikes thrown. Whilst on paper this makes for an exciting match up, the reality will probably be a tepid, drawn out five round kick boxing match with someone eking out the decision win.

The co main event couldn’t be further removed from the main event if it tried. Edson Barboza and Gilbert Melendez will do battle at 155lbs and it should be glorious. Barboza is coming in to this fight having beaten former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in his last fight with a kickboxing masterclass, however prior to that fight he’d gone 1-2 losing to Tony Ferguson and Michael Johnson either side of a win over Paul Felder. Barboza is easily one of the hardest hitting strikers at lightweight and has the tools to be a title challenger but has always seemed to come up short against the top tier fighters in the division, however the win over Pettis will hopefully spur him on to challenge for the belt however he’s got a tough opponent standing in his way in Gilbert Melendez. The former Strikeforce lightweight champion hasn’t quite had the success in the UFC that he had in Strikeforce since signing for the organisation but when you look at who he’s fight since he’s joined the company, it’s no real surprise. Melendez has lost fights to Ben Henderson, Anthony Pettis and Eddie Alvarez all of whom are either former champions at 155lbs or in Alvarez’s case, the current champion. Melendez has picked up a win in the UFC over Diego Sanchez but as we’ve seen recently, Sanchez isn’t the force he once was. Melendez will be hoping to break this run of results with a win over Barboza but he’ll need to avoid the devastating kicks of the Brazilian if that’s going to happen and look to wear him down in the clinch and in the boxing exchanges. Melendez can’t afford to give Barboza the distance he needs to unleash those body and headkicks or he could become another highlight reel KO on Barboza’s resume.

Francis Ngannou welcomes UFC newcomer Bojan Mihajlović in a heavyweight fight that could get the blood pumping. Ngannou is a hard hitting heavyweight who destroyed Curtis Blaydes face in his last fight in a devastating showcase of how much power he possesses in his hands. Mihajlović is no joke however, he comes in to the UFC with a 10-3 record having won his last 10 fights in a row, although he doesn’t quite possess the same recasting KO power as Ngannou he’s no stranger to an early finish. With that in mind, expect this fight to finish within the three rounds this fight is scheduled for.

A fighter known more for her Instagram pictures than her fighting achievements, Felice Herrig kicks off the main card in a strawweight fight against Kailin Curran. Neither of these two fighters have set the world alight since joint the UFC roster, with Herrig going 1-1 in the division and Curran 1-2. Neither of these fighters are known for their knockout power or their submission skills, however Curran did win her last fight via rear naked choke against Emily Kagan. Both of these fighters do however provide good entertainment in their fights,even if they’re not renowned for finishing fights early. So expect an entertaining fight between these two game women to open proceedings on the main card.

Fights to watch on the undercard; Jim Alers vs. Jason Knight, Kamaru Usman vs. Alexander Yakolev and Frankie Saenz vs. Eddie Wineland.