Conor McGregor believes Valentina Shevchenko would ‘spark’ Henry Cejudo

Conor McGregor is confident that Valentina Shevchenko would have the upper hand in an intergender bout against Henry Cejudo.

Earlier this year, ‘Triple C’ took to social media and called for an intergender fight against female fighters including Germaine De Randamie and Amanda Nunes. One of the names to top his list was women’s flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko. Shevchenko was amused by the callout but assured fans that she would beat the male champion.

Unsurprisingly, the fight has not come to fruition, but that hasn’t stopped other fighters from giving their two cents on the potential matchup. McGregor is one of those to chime in and is confident that Shevchenko would be victorious.

“I’d go Valentina Shevchenko,” McGregor said during a press conference in Russia.

“I tell you what, that Shevchenko, that woman – the Shevchenko sisters are phenomenal fighters. Valentina is unbelievable,” McGregor said (via Lowkickmma). “[She is] one of the greatest female fighters there ever was. So I would say Valentina, with the length and the range and the dangerous strikes would probably spark Henry.”

Despite the intergender rivalry, Cejudo and Shevchenko resolved their differences backstage at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi.

According to MMA Junkie, the pair were goofing around backstage. In a clip that has since been deleted, Shevchenko put Henry Cejudo in a chokehold. He yelled out “No Mas!” and the pair continued to joke around.

This proved to many fans that the ‘Triple C’s’ comments were merely for publicity. Since then, Cejudo has directed his attention towards a long list of male fighters, calling out Floyd Mayweather, Dominick Cruz and others.

Meanwhile, Conor McGregor has been busy promoting his whiskey brand around the world and hinting a return to the UFC. Last week, ‘The Notorious’ announced his Octagon return on January 18th, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the same location as his last fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Who do you think would win in an intergender bout between Henry Cejudo and Valentina Shevchenko? Sound off in the comments below!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/28/2019.