Former UFC Champion Miesha Tate Slams Valentina Shevchenko for Her UFC 275 Performance: ‘Everybody Thought She Was So Unbeatable’
Former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate stopped by on ‘The MMA Hour’ and talked about the highly talked about title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Talia Santos. The title challenger pushed ‘The Bullet’ more than any of her former opponents, and many believe she did enough to win the fight.
One such individual was Miesha Tate, who wasn’t particularly impressed with the way Valentina Shevchenko performed in the co-main event for UFC 275. Talia Santos used her imposing physical strength and had Shevchenko in some compromising positions that many fans hadn’t seen her in.
With her win at #UFC275, Valentina Shevchenko passes Ronda Rousey for the most consecutive title defenses in a female weight class 🏆
(via @BulletValentina) pic.twitter.com/s41aiQPot0
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 12, 2022
Miesha Tate bashes Valentina Shevchenko’s UFC 275 performance
Apart from analyzing her performance, Miesha Tate also expressed her disappointment over not being the first fighter to seemingly push Shevchenko to her limits. ‘Cupcake’ Tate wanted to show that Shevchenko wasn’t as ‘indestructible’ as she’s shown herself to be in her previous title defenses.
Time for the co-main event. Valentina Shevchenko vs. Talia Santos for the UFC womens flyweight title #UFC275 pic.twitter.com/OwSirIyKN8
— MMA Crazy (@MMACrazy) June 12, 2022
“The worst part is I already knew this. Now, the rest of the world knows it. I already believe this. I didn’t want Valentina to look any less indestructible. I wanted her to stay where everybody thought she was so unbeatable, because I already knew I could do that.”
“I honestly, in my first impression, thought that Talia won the first three rounds,” Tate said. “Going back and watching it, I could see an argument where Valentina, depending on what you favor, could have won the fight. But in my mind, I still feel like Talia Santos won it, especially because I think that the visual of the eye, which I believe primarily came from the headbutt, was calculated in the judges’ minds, however, it really shouldn’t have been, because it was a foul, essentially.” [h/t mmafighting.com]
Miesha Tate is in line to face ‘Lucky’ Lauren Murphy who has shown herself to be a tough test in the flyweight division. Given Tate’s name value in the sport, a win over Murphy would solidify her place as the next title challenger for Valentina Shevchenko. She’ll look to use her extensive experience to claim the second UFC title of her storied career.
