MMA Preview – Andrea Lee vs Antonina Shevchenko at UFC 262
ANDREA LEE VS ANTONINA SHEVCHENKO FACTS
When is UFC 262? Sunday 16th May, 2021 - 01:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC 262? Toyota Center, Houston, Texas (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC 262? Click here to buy tickets for UFC 261
What channel is UFC 262 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC 262? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
ANDREA LEE VS ANTONINA SHEVCHENKO LOWDOWN
It wasn’t that long ago Andrea Lee (11-5) was riding a seven-fight win streak after three impressive unanimous decisions in her first three UFC outings to stretch her record to 11-2. She had all the tools and a ton of promise but three fights later, she is fighting for her career. After cruising past Veronica Macedo, Ashlee Evans-Smith and Montana De La Rosa she fell short in two split decisions to Joanne Calderwood and Lauren Murphy and is now coming off a limp unanimous decision loss to Roxanne Modafferi.
Antonina Shevchenko (9-2) was also sitting pretty on an unblemished record after her UFC debut. She earnt a unanimous decision over Ji Yeon Kim in 2018 to go 7-0 but went on to lose a split decision to Modafferi. She responded in a great battle with Lucie Pudilova submitting her in the second round but fell again losing a unanimous decision to Katlyn Chookagian. However, she is now coming off her most impressive performance to date knocking out Ariane Lipski back in November.
ANDREA LEE VS ANTONINA SHEVCHENKO PREDICTION
There is a clear path to victory here for Lee and that is to get her wrestling shoes on. They both have awful takedown defence, but Lee is a better wrestler and has the ability to control Shevchenko on the mat or fence for the majority of the fight.
Whether Lee adopts this game plan is a different question. They are both well-versed strikers hailing from a Muay Thai background. Shevchenko will hope Lee decides to back her striking and it will create an exciting and technical contest.
As Lee is staring at four losses in a row, you have to expect her to mix in grappling at least. If she can level-change in between combinations and utilise her judo to throw Shevchenko to the canvas, the fight is hers but she will have to be careful in the clinch where Shevchenko is very strong so Lee will be better off shooting for single leg and double leg takedowns.
We expect an even striking contest but as soon as Shevchenko starts to land, Lee will shoot in for the takedown and keep her on her back to wind down the clock and earn a much-needed decision.
Prediction: Lee via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
