Valentina Shevchenko is looking to add some more hardware to her trophy case.
The flyweight champion, and No. 1 ranked fighter in the MMA Fighting Pound-For-Pound rankings is set to defend her title against Taila Santos at UFC 275 in June. If she wins, it will be her seventh straight title defense.
With such a reign of dominance, “Bullet” believes the UFC may finally give her another shot at the 135-pound title.
“I think so,” Shevchenko told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour when asked if a move back to 135 was in her future. There is always a chance. The bigger the fight, the better.
Shevchenko, a bantamweight champion in the world prior to the UFC’s creation of flyweight division, lost in a split decision against Amanda Nunes. She was the UFC 215. title holder. However, things have drastically changed since then. Nunes lost the belt to Julianna Penna in December, in what was one of the most shocking upsets in MMA’s history. Shevchenko was not as taken aback as others were.
“I was not in shock,” she said. “Of course it was surprising, but I didn’t see Amanda in the same fight shape as she used to be in the fight. She was different in every way, including her eyes and everything when she fought with me. She was slightly more relaxed in the Julianna fight. I’m not sure how she trained for the fight but it was different.
Prior the fight, many fans called for another Shevchenko-Nunes matchup, and Shevchenko made it clear that she was open to the idea. Pena’s win put a stop to that.
The flyweight champ now hopes it was only a delay, as Pena and Nunes are set to rematch in July at UFC 277. Both women have a history, with Pena losing twice to Nunes and Pena winning by submission.
” I think it’s only on standby before July,” Shevchenko stated. This is the place they booked the rematch. I think it’s inevitable. Or if [she loses] it will be Julianna Pena. We fought Julianna a few years ago, I submitted her with an armbar, and now people are definitely bringing up her name more frequently.”
A bantamweight title fight is not guaranteed. Depending on the outcome, the UFC could look to book a trilogy fight between Pena and Nunes, or they could be more interested in Ketlen Vieira, who just defeated Holly Holm, getting a crack at the bantamweight strap. Even though Shevchenko is a champion in flyweight, they still have fights that are worth watching.
Despite this, Bullet believes that she will get a chance at another title in the coming year.
” I think it will be a great fight by the end the year,” Shevchenko stated. “But also we have to see — Miesha Tate is coming to 125 in July. So many things can happen, many things can change. So yeah, I think it’s possible. It’s very, very, very possible.”
Shevchenko defends the title of flyweight against Taila Santos at UFC 275’s co-main event on June 11, Kallang, Singapore.
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