If Dana White had really made such a massive oversight, someone in the room full of journalists would have called him out on it.
In Saturday’s main event, Valentina Shevchenko secured herself a women’s bantamweight title shot by finishing Julianna Pena inside two rounds. The 17-time world Muay Thai champion was expected to beat the ‘Venezuelan Vixen’, but she surprised everyone by scoring the finish on the ground, where Pena was favoured to have the edge due to her physicality and grappling prowess.
She forced the tap with a stunning armbar at 4:29 of the second frame to earn a rematch against Nunes, but this time the fight will take place over five-rounds and the belt will be on the line.
What. A. Performance! @BulletValentina submits @VenezuelanVixen with a nasty armbar. 👌 #UFCDenver https://t.co/ky9iWkDROt
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) January 29, 2017
UFC president Dana White confirmed that ‘Bullet’ would get her shot in the post-fight press conference, but a lot of people jumped on a comment he made about the champion.
When asked whether Nunes would get a crack at the soon to be introduced women’s featherweight strap that Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie will be slugging it out for at UFC 208, White was quick to shoot down her request.
“Pump the brakes, pump the brakes. Let’s defend the title first. You know what I mean? Let her defend her title first. She hasn’t defended her title.”
“Everybody wants to jump around these days. We need to start pumping the brakes around here.”
Dana White must have wiped the Nunes/Rousey fight from his memory. Says Nunes has yet to defend her title (via @MMAFighting) pic.twitter.com/HbHSnLVQlo
— Michael Hutchinson (@TheMikeyHutch) January 29, 2017
Some people unfairly took aim at White for supposedly suggesting that Nunes had yet to defend her title, despite the fact that she absolutely murked former 135 lb queen Ronda Rousey in her first defence in UFC 207’s headliner. However, this wasn’t the case at all.
That edited clip of White showcasing his apparent selective memory doesn’t show the whole picture. Directly before he gave that answer, he was asked about the next challenger to Nunes’ throne.
“Shevchenko proved tonight that she’s a very well-rounded mixed martial artist, and she’s ready for a title fight. Stylistically I think it’s a very fun fight with these two.
“I don’t know when, I’ll get home and figure it out.”
Although he didn’t use the word ‘again’, it was implied that he meant Nunes had yet to defend her title against new number-one contender Shevchenko. No one asked him to clarify in the presser because the context showed this is what he meant.
Context is key.
