UFC Uruguay | Liz Carmouche says she will finish Valentina Shevchenko again

Liz Carmouche is the only person to ever finish Valentina Shevchenko, and she expects to do that again.

In the main event of UFC Uruguay, Carmouche will rematch Shevchenko for the UFC flyweight belt. The two fought back in 2010, and the American defeated the future UFC champ from Kyrgyzstan by stoppage. Although that was nine years ago, the outcome is still somewhat controversial.

Shevchenko has her own story of what happened, but Carmouche says the champ is making excuses to diminish a legitimate outcome.

“It was an up-kick that cut her over her eye. It then wouldn’t stop bleeding and went in her eye,” Carmouche told BJPENN.com. “The doctor called it because they couldn’t clean it up. I mean everything was bloody. Which in any ruleset, that is a doctor stoppage so it was a legitimate win. It sounds like she is making an excuse.”

Although she has a win over Shevchenko, Liz Carmouche is not viewing this as a rematch. She says she hasn’t taken anything from that fight into this camp as they were both so new to the sport at the time. But Carmouche does believe their previous matchup will be in Shevchenko’s head when they fight.

“I have faced her, so there is something in the back of her head that she has to something to prove. Having a win over her will always be on her mind, so that is an advantage I have,” Carmouche explained. “Everyone goes in thinking you can play her tempo, but you have to go and be the one to push the pace against her. That is the only time people have had success against her. When she dictates how it goes, she dominates. I know what I need to do to have success in there.”

Liz Carmouche has a straightforward plan for unseating Valentina Shevchenko. The 35-year-old says she will push the pace, as she knows she is the stronger fighter, and she will look to make it a ‘dirty’ fight. She says everyone at flyweight Shevchenko has faced had no knockout power and was weaker than the champ. But, in this fight, Carmouche says it will be the opposite.

“The first time I faced her I never did strength and conditioning. I never lifted weights in MMA career. The only thing I’d ever done is cardio. If you look at me then to now, I understand what it takes to care of my body,” she explained. “That is going to be a huge difference in this fight that contributes to my power. We also fought at bantamweight and I was the stronger one. Now, at flyweight, where I feel stronger and faster, my strength will be a factor in this fight.”

Ultimately, Liz Carmouche is confident in her abilities to win this fight. She has beaten Shevchenko before and knows what it takes to win and expects to not only beat her again, but finish her.

“It will be a different fight than the first. I don’t think it will end by up-kick but I think it will end with me finishing her,” Carmouche said. 

In the end, if she does everything she says, Liz Carmouche will hear ‘And New’ which is something she has been dreaming of for years.

“It would mean the world to win the UFC title. This is what I have been working towards being the best. I’ve had offers to fight in other organizations. But, I want to fight the toughest and most skilled fighters in the world,” she concluded.

Who do you think will win the fight between Liz Carmouche and Valentina Shevchenko?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/6/2019.