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Being overlooked as just a striker, Valentina Shevchenko (14-2) showcased her submission ability over Julianna Pena (8-3) at UFC Denver on Saturday night to earn a shot at bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.

As the fight began at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Col., Pena expectedly looked to clinch Shevchenko against the cage, but “Bullet” was easily able to sweep the 27-year-old and take top position, multiple times, where she rained down elbows and punches. The first round seemed to be all Shevchenko until a late armbar attempt from Pena.

In the second, Pena continued her gameplan to clinch against the fence and managed to score a takedown on the number one ranked bantamweight. In all honesty, Pena looked comfortable as she controlled the fight from top position, but somehow, Shevchenko pulled an unlikely sweep and was able to catch a belly-down armbar, which forced the “The Venezuelan Vixen” to tap at 4:29 of round two for Shevchenko’s sixth career submission. 

After she defeated Pena at her own game; her first submission win in nearly 11-years, the Kyrgyzstani branded herself a ‘complete fighter’ before she came face-to-face with women’s champion Amanda Nunes. The two initially fought at UFC 196 in March 2016, which the Brazilian won on the judges’ scorecards.

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Jorge Masvidal (32–11) produced the most impressive performance of the night; and possibly his career, in the UFC Denver co-main event, when he completely outshone Donald Cerrone (32–8, 1NC).

No. 12 ranked Masvidal weathered an early onslaught of leg kicks from Cerrone before he successfully found his range and started to stumble the “Cowboy.” Once Masivdal took control of the Octagon, he began to backup Cerrone before he landed a flush right hand which dropped his opponent at the end of round one. A downed Cerrone looked to be out of it as Masivdal continued to land at will, but Herb Dean alarmingly called for the end of the round as opposed to the finish.

From the start of the second, Cerrone never looked like he fully recovered as “Gamebred” immediately piled on the pressure to the Denver favourite, where he was able to corner Cerrone and land a barrage of unanswered strikes to the head and abdomen, which forced the referee to finally intervene at 1:00 of round two.With no lack

With no lack of confidence, the victorious Masvidal made a post-fight wager of $200,000 to UFC President Dana White, when he claimed the boss couldn’t produce any welterweight talent to match him.

In a battle of heavyweights, Francis Ngannou (10-1) continued to build his hype when he finished former champion Andrei Arlovski (25–14, 1NC) with definitive ease.

After being tipped as the next star of the heavyweight division, it comes as no surprise that the UFC would match Ngannou up with a proven name in order to boost his stock. 

It didn’t take long for the Frenchman to solidify his “Predator” moniker, as he easily picked his moment against “The Pitbull,” to land a crisp left hook followed by a right hand to send Arlovski flying. 

The official finish by No. 10 ranked heavyweight Ngannou came at 1:32 of round one. 

With this loss, Arlovski slipped to four consecutive losses and likely means his UFC tenure dangles on a thread. 

Opening the UFC Denver main card, Jason Knight (16-2) made it three wins in a row with an impressive rear-naked choke submission over a game Alex Caceres (12-10).

Despite showing some elusive head movement early on, Knight eventually found his range against Caceres and managed to drop the slippery featherweight with a right hand.Mississippi’s Knight continued his pressure in the second round and once he landed a takedown on Caceres, he proved relentless with his attempts to finish the fight by submission. After struggling to find the right position for a rear-naked choke, Knight finally adjusted to submit “Bruce Leeroy” at 4:21 of round two and claimed his first

Mississippi’s Knight continued his pressure in the second round and once he landed a takedown on Caceres, he proved relentless with his attempts to finish the fight by submission. After struggling to find the right position for a rear-naked choke, Knight finally adjusted to submit “Bruce Leeroy” at 4:21 of round two and claimed his first tapout since a triangle choke over Musa Khamanaev in September 2015

In a heartfelt post-fight speech, Knight paid tribute to his late father before he called out featherweight fan favourite Doo Ho Choi for a future bout. 

Meanwhile, on the UFC Denver undercard, Sam Alvey (30–8, 1NC) did enough to beat Nate Marquardt (35–17–2) in a less than thrilling contest. Alvey received a unanimous decision nod from the judges for his fourth win on the bounce and then called for a fight against Welshman Jack Marshman.

Also at UFC Denver, Raphael Assuncao (24-5) rebounded from his loss to T.J. Dillashaw with a split decision win over Aljamain Sterling (12-2). It was constant pressure from the Brazilian which allowed him to get the nod over a less than impressive Sterling who slips to his second defeat in a row.

For complete UFC on FOX 23 “Shevchenko vs. Pena” results, click here.