UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko has looked more or less unbeatable since claiming the title in 2018 -- but she might be facing her toughest test to date at flyweight on Saturday in Jessica Andrade.
Shevchenko (20-3) has a strong hold of the 125-pound division, and she's looked extremely dominant in four successful title defenses. She'll look to keep the streak going at UFC 261 on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida, against a former strawweight champion in Andrade (21-8).
The Brazilian challenger has only fought at 125 pounds once in the UFC, but the result was a spectacular first-round knockout of veteran Katlyn Chookagian in October. Will the power of Andrade be enough to upset Shevchenko's dominance? ESPN asked several experts for their breakdowns and predictions.
Dan Hardy, UFC welterweight
Andrade is a firecracker and she's so good at catching opponents with shots that they wouldn't expect. That punch to the body she caught Chookagian with almost made me sick. You could tell by the reaction, the way Chookagian turned away, how much it had hurt her. There is the possibility of her landing one of those shots against Shevchenko, but she's got to catch her on one of those wild attacks.
I think Shevchenko is just too technical for her. Shevchenko's average fight time is nearly 20 minutes. She's good at staying safe and using reach and height advantage, and Shevchenko will have four inches of both in this fight. I think she'll be able to catch Andrade with quite a lot of volume from a distance, snap high kicks. I think Shevchenko will be able to coast quite comfortably to a decision.
Sayif Saud, Fortis MMA
Valentina is one of the most complete fighters and truest martial artists in the game. If you had to coin a martial artist, Valentina is so high on that list. She leaves no stone unturned. I think she's going to be more than prepared for Andrade's strength and close-quarter fighting. I think Valentina will win wherever the fight goes, because Valentina has shown she's a great grappler, too. The way Andrade beat Rose Namajunas, I don't see her doing that to Valentina.
Valentina is too strong at that weight class. Valentina dominates this fight in whatever facet she needs to. Andrade is very, very tough but she's very, very small. And I know she's strong, but so is Valentina. And Valentina is just bigger than her. At strawweight, Andrade's strength came into play more, but at flyweight, especially against Valentina, I don't see it. I think Valentina is going to finish this fight. I don't know when, but how will Andrade look in the fourth and fifth? I don't see Andrade being able to survive Valentina's complete skill set for 25 minutes.
Angela Hill, UFC strawweight
Andrade poses different threats from other flyweight challengers. I kind of like to say, she doesn't play by the rules. She just wades in with punches, throws big as she comes in -- and it's a big distraction while she gets into their body and legs, picks them up and puts them down.
I think Valentina is very crafty on the feet and she's a good game planner. She's able to look at what a person gives and find the right moves to use. I thought it was really smart when she fought Katlyn Chookagian and decided to just dominate on the ground. It wouldn't surprise me if Shevchenko looked to put Andrade on her back, which I don't think anyone has really done before.
On the feet, Shevchenko has more tools, kicks, spinning stuff, and I think her timing is really good, too. While Andrade has gotten a lot more technical, she still has that brawler in her. She'll drop her hands and just throw heat, but that's worked for her. And she's gotten better at figuring out when to throw that kill shot.
I think Andrade has a chance, but she's going to have to work really hard to get inside against Shevchenko, who is so good at controlling range. I'm going to go with Valentina. She can maybe get a knockout, but Andrade is tough. She'd have to get her good. I'll say Valentina by decision.
Mike Brown, American Top Team
That's pretty one-sided. All Valentina. Andrade gets hit too much, comes straight forward. Valentina has enough power and good conditioning to hurt her, and probably hurt her bad. She won't be easy to take down. Andrade probably needs to take her down. Andrade is really good in some areas and very vulnerable in others, and there are certain matchups that are just a nightmare for her -- and this is one of them. She needs to add some things to her game and become more versatile.
Valentina is really good defensively, and we're at 125 pounds. The chance of getting a one-punch KO isn't that high. Andrade is a power puncher, likes to throw hard, all forward motion, but it's rare to KO somebody with one shot. She'll have to do it over multiple rounds. Valentina is athletic, she's a good counterpuncher, she's taller. All of that could lead Andrade into eating some heavy shots. I don't know if Valentina will get a finish, but it's going to be tough for Andrade to go five rounds without running into something big.
Aljamain Sterling, UFC bantamweight champion
I like Valentina a lot. I really enjoy all of her performances, she's a true fighter -- fights hard and smart. She lost one round to Jennifer Maia and people started going crazy, that's how dominant she is. I think she's the champ for a reason. Jessica has a puncher's chance, but I don't think she can bully Valentina like she does [in other fights]. Valentina's hard to control and she has very good counterstriking. Holly Holm couldn't get close to Valentina. I think it's going to be the same, the champion defends again.