Antonina Shevchenko’s UFC run up to Saturday’s fight with Casey O’Neill had been anything but the dominant showing many had expected following her Contender Series appearance.
Her name alone had many expecting her to mimic sister/women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko’s artistry in the cage. But through six UFC fights, “El Pantera” was 3-3, trading wins and losses the entire time.
The undefeated O’Neill was looking to hand Shevchenko a second straight loss for the first time in her career at UFC Vegas 38.
The opening round turned out to be a rather interesting back-and-forth battle. O’Neill wound up on her back for a time, arm trapped, with Shevchenko dropping elbows. O’Neill scrambled up to her feet, and later in the frame got Shevchenko down and got on top.
After that close opening round, the pair would battle it out in a clinch early in the second. Breaking and moving back to center, the duo exchanged, with O’Neill closing the distance. Later, she’d close the distance, back Shevchenko up to the fence, drop levels and secure the takedown. From there, O’Neill went to work in guard, but Shevchenko spun around on her back trying to scramble free. She couldn’t escape, however, and O’Neill remained heavy on top.
Started the second round swinging 👊
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— UFC (@ufc) October 2, 2021
From there, O’Neill began unleashing ground n’ pound, forcing Shevchenko to give up her back. O’Neill looked for the choke, but couldn’t secure it. Shevchenko went to her back once more, with more ground n’ pound coming from O’Neill as the ref looked on. It looked as if Shevchenko might escape the round, but O’Neill began unloading punches Donkey Kong style to get the finish.
Official Result: Casey O’Neill def. Antonina Shevchenko by TKO, Round 2, 4:47
