UFC 255 video: Antonina Shevchenko finishes Ariane Lipski with vicious ground-and-pound attack

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC At UFC 255, Antonina Shevchenko proved she is someone who learns from her mistakes.
After suffering a lopsided loss to Katlyn Chookagian in her last outing where she was largely out grappled for three rounds, the 36-year-old flyweight came back on Saturday night and employed that same kind of strategy to take the fight to the canvas and batter Ariane Lipski with punches. Shevchenko was relentless with her ground and pound, and after landing numerous unanswered shots, the referee had no choice but to stop the contest and prevent Lipski from enduring any further punishment.
The official end time came at 4:33 in the second round.
“I’m very happy to win today,” Shevchenko said afterwards. “I wanted it so much. I trained so hard. I just needed this victory.”
With her sister Valentina defending her title on the same card, Shevchenko knew she wanted to start the night off right with a strong showing against Lipski.
She definitely delivered as Shevchenko was able to put Lipski on the ground where she just began chipping away with punches while never allowing the Brazilian to get back to her feet again. While Shevchenko is best known for her striking, she was more than happy to showcase her grappling skills with Lipski just stuck underneath her for almost the entire fight.
After taking Lipski down again in the second round, Shevchenko just began unloading a barrage of shots that eventually left the referee no choice but to stop the fight.
The win puts Shevchenko back on track as she improves her UFC record to 3-2 overall while also sending her sister a positive message as she prepares for a title defense on the pay-per-view main card.
“Of course, I had this pressure,” Shevchenko said about the first time two sisters competed on the same UFC card. “Because a perfect performance would be if two sisters win. It’s the pressure that motivates you.”


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