The UFC announced via their Instagram account that UFC on FOX 23 will be headlined by Juliana Peña vs Valentina Shevchenko. The event will take place on January 28th at the Pepsi Centre in Denver, Colorado.
It is a very exciting, if not surprising matchup, after Peña stated that she would not accept any fight other than a title fight after dismantling Cat Zingano at UFC 200, making it clear that she considered herself the number 1 contender to UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Shevchenko has established herself as a serious contender at 135 lbs, coming off a dominant win over former champion Holly Holm, and a very narrow loss to Nunes, however, and is sure to have thoughts of title contention herself.
With Peña and Shevchenko currently ranked #3 and #2 in the bantamweight division respectively, a win for either fighter will surely establish them as the clear number one contender in the division. Expect the winner of Amanda Nunes vs Ronda Rousey to be watching this matchup closely, making notes on their next title challenger.
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