A pair of female bantamweight strikers has agreed to fight at UFC 196, as Amanda Nunes will take on Valentina Shevchenko. The UFC Brazil Twitter account confirmed the new bout, which will likely put the winner closer to a title shot.
Nunes (11-4) has fought five times in the Octagon since 2013 and has only lost to former title challenger, Cat Zingano. She bounced back with a TKO win over Shayna Baszler and a rear-naked choke victory over another title challenger, Sara McMann. All of her wins in the UFC have come by stoppage in the first round.
Headed into her second UFC fight, Shevchenko debuted in the Octagon with a split decision win over former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman, which extended her current win streak to five in a row. In her 12-1 career, Schevchenko only loss came back in 2010 vs. current UFC fighter Liz Carmouche. She is also known for defeating current UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in Muay Thai.
UFC 196 takes place on March 5th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The card will be headlined by the super fight between Rafael dos Anjos and Conor McGregor for the lightweight belt. This pay-per-view was originally titled UFC 197, but the February 6th event has switched from UFC 196 to UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson on Fox Sports 1.