Chael Sonnen explains why Valentina Shevchenko missed the mark in UFC 306 post-fight interview

Chael Sonnen believes UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko missed out on a valuable opportunity after defeating Alexa Grasso in their trilogy fight.

Shevchenko defeated Grasso by unanimous decision to reclaim the UFC women’s flyweight title at UFC 306. After back-to-back winless outings against Grasso, Shevchenko got her revenge and reeled in a new flyweight title reign.

Manon Fiorot, the presumptive No. 1 contender, wasn’t targeted by Shevchenko in her post-fight interview. Fiorot weighed in as the backup fighter to Shevchenko vs. Grasso 3, but her services weren’t required.

Sonnen feels Shevchenko should’ve promoted her next likely fight immediately after defeating Grasso.

Chael Sonnen scolds Valentina Shevchenko for ignoring Manon Fiorot

During a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy with Daniel Cormier, Sonnen criticized Shevchenko’s post-fight remarks.

“Can I tell you what one of my least favorite parts (of UFC 306) was? It’s very simple,” Sonnen began on Shevchenko. “There was an alternate that flew in and weighed in in case anything happened in the Grasso/Shevchenko fight, (Manon) Fiorot. … At a minimum, it would have been nice if Valentina mentioned her…

“I feel like it’s clear that Fiorot is next. She was almost that night. And after the fight, Valentina went in a different direction. She wanted to thank Hunter Campbell and Dana White as opposed to call out an opponent,” Sonnen continued. “I felt for Fiorot. To get licensed, go through all the medicals, go through the training camp, the weight cut, and there’s no opportunity, which means there’s not a very big check to split up with your team. At a minimum, you could have had a callout. … On a human level, to a degree, it bothered me.” (h/t MMANews)

Shevchenko’s UFC 306 win was her first since defeating Taila Santos by split decision at UFC 275. Meanwhile, Fiorot earned the No. 1 contender spot by defeating Erin Blanchfield earlier this year.