The UFC rolled into Denver, Colorado last evening for UFC on Fox 23 which was headlined by a women’s bantamweight contest between Valentina Shevchenko and Julianna Pena.

There were big stakes on the line with the winner all but guaranteed to go on and next challenge Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight title later this year. Both women entered the contest on winning runs and with their confidence high as they entered the Octagon looking to earn their first ever UFC tile shot.
Many before the fight said it was going to be Shevchenko’s striking versus Pena’s grappling, but that didn’t quite turn out to be the case on the night.

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The first round saw the two women engage mostly in the clinch in what was mostly a stalemate as they jostled for position both up against the cage and on the mat after Shevchenko hit two nicely time trips.

In round two things looked to be turning the way of Pena as she managed to get Shevchenko to the mat with her own nicely times trip. Just as it looked as if she was dominating the round in top position, Pena left her arm in Shevchenko’s guard and no second invitation was needed. Within seconds Shevchenko had Pena in a deep armbar and after a failed escape left her on her back with nowhere to go, she was forced to tap out and hand victory to Shevchenko.

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Afterwards an ecstatic Valentina Shevchenko then had a showdown with the champion Amanda Nunes in Octagon after the fight and the two exchanged verbal volleys as they promised to get the upper hand in their future title fight and rematch.

Masvidal wrecks Cerrone in his hometown

In the co-main event, Donald Cerrone and Jorge Masvidal went at in a welterweight clash that many had tipped for the fight of the evening.

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There was controversy in the first round as Masvidal looked to have won the fight in the final few seconds as he dropped Cerrone with a huge counter right to send him straight to the mat. Just as Masvidal followed up, the round was over and with Cerrone seemingly done, he somehow made it to his corner and saw the second round.

Luckily it didn’t matter. Masvidal immediately poured the pressure on again in the second round and got the stoppage with a minute on the clock as he again dropped Cerrone with a right hand. This time there was no clock to save Cerrone as Masvidal followed up with strikes to force referee Herb Dean to call the fight to an end.
On the microphone afterwards Masvidal called it the biggest win of his career and later bet Dana White $200k that he couldn’t find a welterweight to defeat him.

Ngannou flattens Arlovski in one round

Elsewhere on the card, Francis Ngannou continued his one-man demolition job of the UFC heavyweight division with a stunning win over former champion Andrei Arlovski. The Frenchman needed only one minute and thirty-two seconds of the first round to get the job done as he countered Arlovski with a thunderous right-left combination to send the Belarusian straight to the mat unconscious.

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The knockout was as devastating as it was ruthless and you can expect more big things from Ngannou in the near future.  

UFC on Fox 23 Results

Valentina Shevchenko def. Julianna Pena via submission (armbar), Round 2, 4:29
Jorge Masvidal def. Donald Cerrone via TKO (strikes), Round 2, 1:00
Francis Ngannou def. Andrei Arlovski via TKO (punches), Round 1, 1:32
Jason Knight def. Alex Caceres via Submission (rear naked choke), Round 2, 2:48
Sam Alvey def. Nate Marquardt via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Raphael Assuncao def. Aljamain Sterling via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Li Jingliang def. Bobby Nash via knockout (punches), Round 2, 4:45 
Jordan Johnson def. Luis Henrique da Silva via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Eric Spicely def. Alessio Di Chirico via Submission (triangle choke), Round 1, 2:14
Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Jeremy Kimball via TKO (Punches), Round 1, 2:27
Alexandre Pantoja def. Eric Shelton via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Jason Gonzalez def. JC Cottrell via Submission (Darce), Round 1, 3:54