UFC 238 Main Card Preview
2. Valentina Shevchenko (C) (16-3) Vs. Jessica Eye (14-6-1)
Valentina Shevchenko recently captured the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship by defeating pound-for-pound great Joanna Jedrzejczyk. She also took part in a couple of very competitive fights with Amanda Nunes, who is now widely regarded as the greatest female fighter on the planet. Shevchenko may be the best technical striker in women's MMA and has a very solid (somewhat underrated) ground game as well.
For years, Jessica Eye had a rough go of it competing as a bantamweight in the UFC. Her record with the promotion at 135 was unspectacular 1-5-1. However, since becoming a Flyweight, she's a perfect 3-0, which was good enough for her to earn a title shot in a very shallow division.
At press time, according to Odd Shark, Shevchenko is a massive -1200 favorite and justifiably so. Simply put, the reigning flyweight champ appears to be significantly better in every aspect of mixed martial arts.
Jessica Eye is a point fighter who relies on her standup game and hasn't shown any sort of knockout power since her UFC debut in 2013. On paper, Eye doesn't stand a chance in a technical striking match and doesn't have the punching power to land a game-changing lucky shot. Moreover, Shevchenko also appears to have a better ground game. That being said, the challenger is a gritty fighter who is tough to put away. In fact, she hasn't been finished since 2011.
This one may last a while, but the outcome will never be in doubt.
The Pick: Shevchenko via 5th round TKO.