Daniel Cormier believes head clash saved Valentina Shevchenko from defeat at UFC 275

If it wasn’t for an accidental clash of heads, Valentina Shevchenko might not be the UFC women’s flyweight champion right now.

At least that’s how Daniel Cormier sees it.

For the first time during her reign as 125-pound champ, Shevchenko received a stern test in Taila Santos. But in the end, Shevchenko came out on top with a split decision for her seventh consecutive title defense to set the record by a female UFC fighter.

Nothing was easy, though, as Santos consistently succeeded in taking down and controlling Shevchenko, especially through the first three rounds. But in that third round, the two women accidentally clashed heads while simultaneously closing distance, with Shevchenko’s forehead bumping into Santos’ right eye, which began to swell.

For Cormier, who served as a UFC 275 cageside commentator, that was the deciding factor in saving Shevchenko from her first loss in almost five years.

“(It was a) accidental clash of heads that ultimately, to me, really did determine how this fight was going to play out,” Cormier said during the UFC 275 post-fight show. “There is no reason for me to believe that anything was going to be different because every round Santos was able to do the same thing – get the takedown. … But in Round 4 and Round 5, Valentina showed her championship mettle. She showed that desire to retain that belt because she went forward, she threw caution to the wind, and she really did put it on Taila Santos.”

Shevchenko was assisted by the fact that Santos’ right eye closed during the championship rounds. Santos said afterwards that she saw two Shevchenko’s during Rounds 4 and 5 and “just tried to hit in the middle.” On Sunday, it was revealed that Santos suffered broken orbital bone that will require surgery.

Shevchenko (23-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) ultimately might’ve dodged a bullet thanks to the clash of heads, but even so, Cormier said he still believes Santos (19-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) was the rightful winner based on the danger she put the champion in at various moments throughout 25 minutes.

“I thought (Santos) won the fight,” Cormier said. “I think there’s value in those submission attempts. I understand it wasn’t under the neck, I understand that Valentina wasn’t squirming and fighting for her life, but every time Taila Santos put herself in position to chase those submissions there’s got to be some value in that.”

Given the close nature of the fight – with the judges scoring 48-47, 47-48 and 49-46 – a rematch could be warranted. But if they meet again, Cormier thinks Santos will struggle to find the same amount of success she did at UFC 275.

“Here’s the problem for Taila Santos: I don’t believe that, in a rematch, she fights Valentina as close because I believe Valentina will make adjustments,” Cormier said. “That (fight) was a bit of a surprise to a champion like Valentina Shevchenko.”