“Bullet” Valentina Shevchenko wants to return to 135 pounds. Her dominance of the flyweight division is unquestionable, and with a potential seventh title defense looming at UFC 275, and Amanda Nunes deposed from the bantamweight throne, Shevchenko told The MMA Hour that she sees herself returning to the bantamweight division this year.
“I think so. There is always the chance. Definitely the bigger fight, the better.” “Bullet” was far from shocked when Julianna Pena overcame 7-1 odds and defeated Amanda Nunes, claiming the bantamweight title late last year. It was one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, but Valentina Shevchenko saw a difference in her old adversary.
Shevchenko sees herself fighting for the bantamweight strap again this year
““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. For example, when we fought together she was completely different eyes, different everything. In the Julianna fight she was a little bit more relaxed. I don’t know how she prepared for this fight, but she looked different.”
It was Nunes, of course, who defeated Shevchenko via split decision for the title back at UFC 215. Nunes and Pena are set to fight once again not long after Valentina defends her title, so the timing for a bantamweight title fight featuring Valentina Shevchenko at the end of the year works out.
““I think it’s just on standby, before July. This is where they booked the rematch. I think it’s inevitable. Or if [she loses] it will be Julianna Peña. We fought Julianna a few years ago, I submitted her with an armbar, and now people are definitely bringing up her name more frequently.
I think by the end of the year it’s going to be a good fight. 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.”
Valentina Shevchenko, if she can secure the bantamweight title, will become only the fifth simultaneous two-division champion in MMA history, and the second woman to do so. The first, of course, was Amanda Nunes, and a victory over Nunes to seal the deal would surely be a historic affair for women’s MMA. In a year where women’s boxing headlined Madison Square Garden for the first time ever, it would be a major moment in the history of women’s sport.
Is Shevchenko fighting for the bantamweight title again this year? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
