Two of the biggest fights of the year are set to take place at UFC 322 in November.
Dana White recently announced a title fight double-header for the promotion’s return to the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden.
Both fights feature dominant champions moving up divisions after vacating their titles to pursue further glory at the weight class above.
There has been a lot of talk about Islam Makhachev’s clash with Jack Della Maddalena, but the co-main event is another massive matchup that is going to be incredibly difficult to predict.
- LATEST NEWS: UFC champion claims Conor McGregor has requested to train with him ahead of planned White House return
Shauna Bannon doesn’t believe that Valentina Shevchenko will have a physical advantage over Zhang Weili
At UFC 322 in November, Valentina Shevchenko will put her flyweight title on the line against Zhang Weili.
Both women have put together incredibly impressive runs in their respective divisions, with Zhang vacating her strawweight belt to move up.
The matchup is likely going to be very difficult for fans and fellow fighters to predict in the build to Madison Square Garden.
In a recent exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, UFC strawweight Shauna Bannon encountered this issue, as she looked to identify what could separate them.
One factor that the Irish star was able to put aside was the chance of there being a size difference, with Bannon claiming that she doesn’t expect the flyweight champion to be much bigger than her opponent.
“I always thought Valentina was a lot bigger than she is but when I met her in Thailand, I was like, she’s actually not that big. She could probably be a strawweight… I don’t even think there’d be much between her and Weili size-wise. There’s definitely bigger flyweights.”
As is likely to be the case for a lot of people, Bannon ended up predicting her winner by the very slightest of margins.
“I think Valentina. I think she’s going to be really hyped for this because it’s someone new… I think slightly Valentina but it could go either way.”
- LATEST NEWS: UFC GOAT taps out in shocking loss to opponent whom he consoled after beating just one year prior
Shauna Bannon is motivated by the news of a vacant strawweight title fight
Through her sponsorship with Only Fans, Shauna Bannon is able to give fans exclusive insight into her career and everything that goes into it.
This path now sees her heading to Paris on September 6 to face Sam Hughes, where she’s looking to extend her UFC winning streak to three.
UFC 321 in October will see a new strawweight champion emerge when Virna Jandiroba faces Mackenzie Dern for the belt that Zhang Weili vacated.
Bannon told Bloody Elbow that this matchup being announced has motivated her now that she has seen what is possible with a few more wins.
“I think it shows that there’s an opportunity. Mackenzie is ranked like five isn’t she? It shows that once you’re in that top five or six range, you could be fighting for the belt and I’m not a million miles away from that so it gives me that hope.”
from Bloody Elbow https://ift.tt/kDPZJcY
