The first of two championship fights headlining the UFC 238 card at the United Center in Chicago has Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko defending her women’s flyweight belt against Jessica “Evil” Eye. Shevchenko is a huge -1200 favorite to make her first title defense with Eye coming back as a +700 underdog.
For a breakdown and pick for each main card fight for UFC 238, check out my preview for the card.
Odds Analysis
This is the second time in three fights that Shevchenko has been a favorite of -1000 or more with the first coming in her flyweight debut against Priscila Cachoeira in February of last year. She was a -330 favorite when she won the belt against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231. Only once has she been an underdog in the UFC and it came against Holly Holm when she closed at +150 and won by decision.
Jessica Eye has been an underdog in seven of her 10 UFC fights and brings with her a record of 4-5 with one no contest in the Octagon. That being said, she does find herself on a three-fight winning streak heading into this scrap.
We have seen massive upsets in the women’s divisions already: take a look at Rose Namajunas’ win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217 in November 2017. However, Shevchenko’s only two losses in the UFC have come against two-division champion Amanda Nunes, both of which went to the judges’ scorecards, including one split decision.
How Will this Fight Play Out?
Shevchenko is masterful at maintaining distance and is very powerful and accurate with her counter-strikes. She does a great job at slowly moving forward on her opponents and planting her foot down to stand her ground and if her foe engages, she fires back with her tremendous striking. Meanwhile, Eye doesn’t typically have a large output and lacks true power in her hands, resulting in 15 of her 20 pro fights going to the judges’ scorecards.
Shevchenko vs Eye Fight Center
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Valentina Shevchenko | -1200 |
| Jessica Eye | +700 |
Odds as of June 4 at Sportsbook
