UFC

UFC 275 fans have been treated to an insane start to the undercard with Maheshate making his UFC debut in explosive style.

The absurd nature of the bout continued in the second when Culibao once again rocked his opponent and sent him to the mat. The 37-year-old finished the job with a powerful follow-up on her left, sending her dazed opponent toppling to the canvas. Choi took control in the third and final round and looked to have a rear-naked choked locked in on two occasions, but the Aussie kept his composure and made it the final bell. Culibao knocked Choi to the mat in the opening round, only for Choi to come surging back to end the round. Just over a minute into his debut, Maheshate put his opponent to sleep with a ferocious right hand that landed right on the button. UFC 275 fans have been treated to an insane start to the undercard with Maheshate making his UFC debut in explosive style.

Valentina Shevchenko and Taila Santos went the distance in their UFC 275 co-main event, in what turned out to be a very close affair.

Santos had a body triangle in place, and got under the chin! Off the restart, Shevchenko landed a throw, had a headlock in place, but Santos rolled through and wound up on top, in guard. She’d finish the round in Shevchenko’s guard — and there was a good chance Taila Santos was up on the scorecards after two rounds. A big takedown followed for Santos. She transitioned to the back, but was high up, and had to be careful not to come off the top. She ripped a kick to the body, and fired a superman punch. Shevchenko had a whizzer in place, defending, and Santos fired knees to the thigh. The action was halted just seconds into the third, after Santos started the frame without her mouth guard. That left Santos with her back to the fence, and Shevchenko found room to land some knees. Shevchenko fanned on a front kick to open round two, and missed on a spinning kick as well. Santos went hunting for a neck crank or rear-naked choke, while the champ fought hands and fired punches back at Santos, doing a fair amount of damage given the angle. That missed; Santos closed the distance for a takedown, but Shevchenko reversed. Santos sat on the outside early as the UFC 275 co-main event got underway — but landed a counter after Shevchenko opened fire.

Valentina Shevchenko got the biggest test of her UFC women's flyweight title reign but managed to escape with a split-decision victory over Taila Santos at ...

Shevchenko started to land heavier combinations and secured a key takedown in the fifth round to seal the victory. The swelling appeared to bother Santos a little, and she also appeared somewhat fatigued in the later rounds. The fight remained ultra competitive in the second and third rounds. Santos, 28, capitalized on the error by locking in a body triangle. Shevchenko (23-3) edged Brazilian contender Taila Santos (19-2) by split decision in the co-main event of UFC 275. I left my heart in this Octagon. I can tell everyone, fans of MMA, I left my heart in here."