MMAjunkie Radio co-host and MMAjunkie contributor Dan Tom provides an in-depth breakdown of all of UFC Fight Night 125s top bouts. Today, we look at the rest of the main.
UFC Fight Night 125 takes place Saturday at Mangueirinho Gymnasium in Belem, Para, Brazil, and the card airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
Also see:

UFC-Belem main-event breakdown: Youth or experience with Lyoto Machida vs. Eryk Anders?UFC-Belem co-main event breakdown: John Dodson vs. Pedro Munhoz

Valentina Shevchenko (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC)

Staple info:

• Height: 5’5″ Age: 29 Weight: 125 lbs. Reach: 67″
Last fight: Decision loss to Amanda Nunes (Sept. 9, 2017)
• Camp: Bushi Ban (Texas)
• Stance/striking style: Southpaw/muay Thai
• Risk management: Good

Supplemental info:
17x muay Thai and K-1 champion
9x IMFA champ (56-2 as a pro)
Tae kwon do black belt (2nd dan)
2 KO victory
6 submission wins
6 first-round finishes
Superb technical striker
^ Footwork, shot selection, timing
Competent and crafty clinch game
^ Strong base and balance
underrated grappler
Physically and mentally durable

Priscila Cachoeira (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)

Staple info:

• Height: 5’7″ Age: 29 Weight: 125 lbs. Reach: 65″
• Last fight: TKO win over Rosy Duarte (Sept. 7, 2017)
• Camp: Parana Vale Tudo (Brazil)
• Stance/striking style: Orthodox/muay Thai
• Risk management: Fair

Supplemental info:
Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt
4 KO victories
2 first-round finishes
Aggressive pace and pressure
/- Developing striking game
^ Tends to swing wild and reckless
Hard leg kicks
Strong inside the clinch
^ Shows underhook awareness
/- Displays serviceable ground skills
^ Often muscles out of positions
/- Limited overall sample-size
Summary: In a flyweight fight that should quietly carry a lot of attention, Valentina Shevchenko will collide with Priscila Cachoeira.
Coming off of a close decision loss to UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, Shevchenko will seek new life down at her more natural weight class of 125 pounds. Should Shevchenko look impressive here, she could find herself back in the title picture faster than she thinks.
Standing in the Kyrgyzstani’s way is Cachoeira, a debuting fighter who hails from Parana Vale Tudo, the same gym as UFC strawweight Jessica Andrade. Initially using MMA as a means to overcome relapsing to drug addiction, her resilience has brought her to the UFC after just three years of fighting professionally.
With slanted stats being the first thing that jumps out about this matchup, it’s easy to understand why favor resides with the former title challenger. Nevertheless, the Cachoeira though still raw will offer some interesting predicaments.
Relentlessly moving forward no matter what, the durable Cachoeira does not mind receiving to give, wearing her nickname of “Pedrita” with pride. Though Cachoeira has shown the ability to jab and work around her opponent’s guard on occasion, she often ends up winging hooks wildly once she gets going.
Cachoeira also appears to have hard leg kicks in her arsenal but still seems to lack the overall process to piece together her offense meaningfully. Despite the Brazilian’s power making her a live threat, her aggression could cost her big against a counter-striker the caliber of Shevchenko.
Coming from a martial arts family Shevchenko has been a practitioner since age 4 amassing multiple titles in K-1 and the IFMA, an organization where she fought and beat Joanna Jedrzejczyk three times.
A counter fighter by nature, the general gameplan of Shevchenko should be clear against an opponent who is hardwired to come forward. From her accurate counter-cross to her hard left kicks, Shevchenko will be a live threat to Cachoeira both coming forward and stepping backward. But in this case, I see Shevchenko’s check-hook having success.
Regardless of how striking stanzas play out, I will be interested o see how things shakeout should this battle hit the clinch.
Criminally underrated in this area, Shevchenko possesses all the tools you would expect from a muay Thai practitioner. Not only does the Kyrgyzstani wield mean elbows off the break, but she also does deceptive work to the body with knees, and I see that paying huge dividends for her as well.
Though many high-level strikers have failed to develop grappling games in MMA, I feel that fighters who come from traditional muay Thai backgrounds bring an aspect of grappling that is typically understated. A devastating striking art with an often overlooked emphasis on clinch wrestling, Shevchenko embraced and excelled in the grappling aspects of muay Thai as it became a huge key to her success.
If Shevchenko shows the clinch craft that was on display in her fight with Juliana Pena, then we could see Cachoeira who has very little in-fight grappling time forced to show the full extent of her tools. But if Shevchenko makes the same mistake she made in the fifth round against Nunes, then she could allow the heavy-handed debutant to get off strikes and score points with the judges.
The oddsmakers and public are firmly decided on this matchup, listing Shevchenko -900 and Cachoeira 600 as of this writing.
I can completely understand the inflation. I’ve long been high on Shevchenko, and I believe that many now see her as one of the best pound-for-pound female fighters in the world. Even though her willingness to wait on the counter has cost her in the past, I see Cachoeira’s aggressiveness playing into Shevchenko’s check-hook, forcing a finish faster than what some might expect.

Official pick: Shevchenko inside the distance

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