UFC 322 goes down this weekend and we are looking at the UFC 322 co-main event. Clashing in an intriguing mix of styles, Zhang Weili will move up in weight from strawweight to flyweight and compete for the title against the dominant champion, Valentina Shevchenko.
We let Ai predict how the UFC 322 co-main event may play out as this one is too close to call!
AI Predicts the UFC 322 Co-Main Event
The Narrative
Heading into the bout, the challenger is enjoying a 5-0 run, dominating every opponent in her way. Shevchenko isn’t in as good form, however, she is undefeated in her last three and has won 11 of her last 13 fights.
Both women are extremely well-rounded and confident wherever the fight goes. Interestingly, both try to win the fight by using their opponents’ strengths against them, so this fight will provide plenty of questions ahead of the action.
Although she’s moving up in weight, Zhang Weili is unlikely to be dramatically smaller than Bullet, however, will be used to fighting smaller girls who aren’t as strong as Shevchenko.
Round 1
Zhang will come out and look to close the distance early. She’ll do so by throwing combinations, cut angles and look to get inside the kicking range of Shevchenko. Zhang will potentially look to initiate clinch work and test the strength of the naturally bigger woman.
Naturally, the flyweight queen will stay composed, use her jab to try and keep the active Zhang at bay and use her lateral movement to maintain her kicking range.
With more pressure and volume, Zhang will walk away with the first round, however, Shevchenko will have found her range…
Round 2
The champion comes out and is away that she lost the first round and will look to increase her feints, implement more boxing into her game and potentially look to get Zhang to throw in order to time the takedown.
Off her back, Zhang will push hard to get back to her feet, ramping up the risk of being caught in a submission. With that being said, she scrambles back to her feet and lands heavily on Shevchenko.
Bullet will be able to maintain her distance, and she will avoid being stuck against the fence. She’ll begin to catch Zhang coming in and limit the blitz attacks by Zhang.
This is a close round, but the judge may go on the side of Zhang based on the bigger shots landed.
Round 3
This is a big round. The defending champion is two rounds down. If Zhang has been able to have success in the previous two rounds, she’ll look to build on it in round three. If Shevchenko knows she’s down two rounds, she’ll come out more aggressively. She’ll begin to counter with more emphasis and power, look to take down Zhang and dominate when on the ground. She’ll impose her power on the ground and look to waste down the clock with little emphasis on finishing the fight.
She does just enough to avoid being stood up by the referee and will do damage towards the end of the round as Zhang gets frustrated being in bottom position for a prolonged period of time.
Clear Shevchenko round.
Round 4
Will it be rinse and repeat for Shevchenko in round four of the UFC 322 co-main event? She knows that it works, take Zhang down and control her.
Zhang will increase her urgency in round four, despite fatiguing with the added weight on her frame. She’ll look to elongate her combinations and look for takedowns of her own. She’ll have success, but Shevchenko will scramble out, leading to further fatigue for Zhang.
The fresher champion will begin to point fight Zhang, frustrating the challenger and as she overswings and takes the risk of landing a big shot, Shevchenko times her, gets the clinch and land the trip takedown. She does damage on the floor and ends the round on top.
2-2 going into the final round.
Round 5
The outcome of the UFC 322 co-main event all comes down to the last five minutes.
The women come out and touch gloves and get straight back to business. Zhang is still breathless and Shevchenko looks far fresher. The champion sets a high pace against her fatigued opponent.
Fans question, who wants it more?
Shevchenko continues to pick Zhang off, landing the cleaner strikes and defending takedowns. She presses Zhang up against the cage in the clinch, but the Chinese star is able to maintain her distance.
This appears to give her a second wind and she goes into bezerker mode, indistinguishable from her epic battle with Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
The final horn sounds with both women throwing everything they have left. Both throw their arms in the air, breathless. They left it all in there.
Result
As Bruce Buffer calls both women to the middle, it isn’t clear who has won the UFC 322 co-main event, however, he reads out three scorecards of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46, followed by the words… AND STILL!
Shevchenko retains her belt in an instant classic. Her size, crisper work and gas tank won her the bout overall.
If Zhang’s gas tank holds out for the majority of the fight, she could potentially score a finish, it’s unlikely to happen, however.
