Valentina Shevchenko is content to stay at 125 pounds for now, especially with other fighters showing just how strong the division is.
Lauren Murphy, the former flyweight champion, defeated Miesha Tate to win unanimously at UFC Long Island. Tate was not allowed to challenge Shevchenko for Shevchenko’s title. This would have made it a huge fight for Shevchenko, however “Bullet” says that she is happy with the outcome.
“This is real proof of how hard and how strong flyweight division is,’ Shevchenko told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “Because Lauren Murphy, contender, fighter, and she just beat former UFC bantamweight champion. This is real proof, what else you can see.”
The women’s flyweight division is frequently the object of scorn as a weaker weight class, spurred on in part by Shevchenko’s dominance of it. The champion has had a stranglehold on the division for four years, with seven title defenses to her name and wins over almost all of the top contenders in the weight class. Many speculated that she would be moving up to bantamweight after her victory over Taila Santos in UFC Shevchenko to compete for another title. However, the flyweight queen says that for now, she’s not interested in doing so.
“To fight at 135 right now, that means I have to build bigger muscles. Shevchenko stated that she needs to learn how to make myself larger and how to shrink to be flyweight again. “Give me some reasons. You can fight big, or anything else. But what about the rest? I don’t see, at this moment, it’s really happening because I think flyweight is the weight where I will do my next title defense. Yeah, let’s see. It’s something I still haven’t considered. It depends on what fight it’s going to be, how they will fight, and what they want to do.
” If, for instance, I drop to 125,, it might be an option to have to worry more about my weight. This could lead to me feeling stronger, faster, and more comfortable than I am now. But I feel comfortable right now at this moment, without doing extra cutting or extra adding weight, and I would like to stay healthy as I am right now and continue this journey for the moment.”
This is Shevchenko’s change in pace. Shevchenko had earlier said that she might challenge for the title of bantamweight champion before year ended. It could be due to her fight against Taila Santos. Shevchenko managed to eke out a split decision win in a hard-fought battle with Santos at UFC 275, and said afterwards the she struggled to deal with Santos’ size and strength, particularly given that she herself only weighed in around 130 pounds on fight night. Shevchenko isn’t abandoning her bantamweight pursuits just yet.
” I am ready. Shevchenko stated that she is still considering the opportunity. “I still want to do it, but the right timing, the right moment, the right place, the right circumstances, the right conditions. It must be perfect. Before we get there, it has to be perfect.
“I think for now, next fight is going to be next title defense for the flyweight division. Especially now because right now you can really see how many strong opponents and strong contenders in flyweight.”
Shevchenko is determined to stay at 125, so it’s up to her who will be next. “Bullet” has defeated nearly everyone at the top of the 125 pound rankings, leaving no obvious contenders. Many people suggested a rematch with Santos immediately, however she is currently recovering from surgery for a fractured orbital bone. She will be out of action for some time. Shevchenko is hopeful of returning for another fight by the end the year. She’s not worried about the opponent she will face.
“I don’t know. Shevchenko stated that she never considers who will be my opponent next. “I like it when I get the contract in my hand, because that is how I find out who my opponent is. This is not my occupation to think about who is next. That’s UFC. They’ll know it…It’s not mine headache.”
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