Valentina Shevchenko claims Taila Santos is “trying to hypnotize herself” by thinking she can win at UFC 275

Valentina Shevchenko has heard all the talk that Taila Santos will be one of her toughest title defenses in recent memory.

Shevchenko is set to face the Brazilian in the co-main event of UFC 275 in a very intriguing matchup. Although the champ has been dominant, Santos has said she sees flaws in Shevchenko’s game but for the ‘Bullet’ she isn’t buying that. Instead, she says Santos is just trying to convince herself that she can win.

“I think it’s kind of hypnotizing herself, trying to convince there is something there should be. Like everyone is not perfect. Definitely not everyone is perfect, but all my opponents, they were saying the same over and over,” Shevchenko said at UFC 275 media day. “It’s like, no one is unbeatable. She has some holes in her game. But once they step inside the Octagon, they feel the opposite side. They feel the difference between the fighters and this is the most important. She’s trying to hypnotize herself to convince that there should be, but she’s wrong. It’s not gonna work for her.”

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Although no fighter is unbeatable as Shevchenko says, she is undefeated at flyweight and hasn’t been in a close fight in the weight class so far. However, Santos certainly has the tools to make this fight interesting but for the flyweight champ, she plans to prove to everyone how much better she is.

Valentina Shevchenko has defended her flyweight belt six times and is coming off back-to-back TKO wins over Lauren Murphy and Jessica Andrade. She won the vacant belt over Joanna Jedrzejczyk and also has title defenses over Jennifer Maia, Katlyn Chookagian, Liz Carmouche, and Jessica Eye. As for Santos, this will be her first time fighting for UFC gold.

What do you make of Valentina Shevchenko’s comments regarding Taila Santos ahead of UFC 275?