Kenny Florian discusses what Taila Santos must do to beat Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 275: “Go in there early Wanderlei Silva style berserker mode”

Kenny Florian has given his thoughts on what Taila Santos needs to do in order to defeat Valentina Shevchenko.

This Saturday night at UFC 275, Taila Santos faces the toughest test of her mixed martial arts career to date when she battles Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC women’s flyweight championship. While she may hold a 19-1 pro record with a four-fight win streak to her name, the 28-year-old hasn’t faced anyone quite like ‘Bullet’.

Shevchenko has successfully defended her flyweight title six times and as we look ahead to the immediate future, it’s hard to picture her losing.

Still, Santos will be holding out hope, with MMA analyst Kenny Florian recently explaining what he believes she needs to do if she wants to get her hand raised in Singapore.

“Round 1 is where you can get it done against Shevchenko. That’s when she is trying to heat it up. She’s trying to figure it out. Go right at her, take it right to her, let her know you’re there to fight, and test her chin early. That’s when you can get it done, and I think you have to get it done before round 4…Go in there early Wanderlei Silva style berserker mode and try to get it done.”

Quotes via Sportskeeda

We’ve seen challengers try and swarm Shevchenko in the past but if Santos can get through the guard and make it dirty, there’s certainly a chance she could give the champion some real problems.

Beyond this fight, Valentina seems to be interested in the prospect of moving back up to bantamweight to take on the winner of the upcoming Julianna Pena vs Amanda Nunes rematch.

As we’ve seen in the past, though, taking your eye off of the ball – and in this case Taila Santos – is dangerous.

Can Taila Santos defeat Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 275?