Valentina Shevchenko News

Justin Golightly - March 9, 2018

It hasn’t been that long since Valentina Shevchenko’s absolute domination of Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Belem. It was her flyweight debut and she used that as an alarm siren to every 125-pound woman on the planet. She wasted no time at all calling out the champion Nicco Montano, but there has been nothing but crickets. She had since spoken to us about her impatience with Montano and now it seems it has reached a boiling point. Shevchenko scolds her in this recent interview and says it’s not becoming of a champion. “I heard that [Nicco Montano] already started to train, so I was thinking like, from now it’s about, like, how many months? Three, four months? It’s enough time to be in good shape and good preparation, so let’s see. Still, like, I haven’t heard too much from her, but I hope she will talk soon and hopefully she will accept because I don’t see another [option for an opponent], I just see my next fight for the title with Nicco. She won it a few months ago, but she has to move forward and she has to defend it. And like I said, there is no way to be so quiet and don’t say nothing.”

Tom Taylor - March 5, 2018

Back in early February, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Valentina Shevchenko made her anticipated debut in the new women’s flyweight division opposite Brazil’s Priscila Cachoeira. Shevchenko’s flyweight debut would go down as one of the most brutal beatdowns we’ve ever seen in the Octagon, as she absolutely mauled her outmatched foe to a second-round submission win. With this destructive win, Shevchenko erased any lingering doubt that she is the next woman in line for inaugural UFC flyweight champion Nicco Montano. The dangerous Kyrgyzstani fighter has absolutely earned her shot, the only question is when that shot occurs.

Justin Golightly - February 10, 2018

After Valentina Shevchenko’s anticipated debut in the women’s flyweight division, the one thing everyone had on their mind came into reality: The Bullet is a serious problem for this new division. She put on just about the most dominant performance you can imagine against Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Belem, then immediately called out women’s flyweight champion crowned from The Ultimate Fighter 26, Nicco Montano. That wasn’t the only message she had for her new division’s belt holder. Sooner or later, they’ll have to fight. There is no escaping it. “You know, my time out is such a little bit. I just need a little time to recover me from my last preparation. To recover my mental energy, my physical energy and I’m ready. I’m ready to fight anytime, anywhere, and I hope that [Nicco Montano] will be like a champion and agree to fight as soon as she can and we will [fight for the UFC women’s flyweight title] this next time. I think [to return in] March is a little bit early, but let’s see, let’s wait a call from UFC. You know, I don’t think that [Montano] can be injured forever.”

Drake Riggs - February 8, 2018

“I think i’m one or two fights away [from a title shot]. I think [Valentina] Shevchenko will fight for the title next and I would like to fight her for the title. So however many I need to have between now and then, that’s what i’m working towards 100%.

Jason Kindschy - February 8, 2018

BJPENN Radio returns tonight at 8PM ET/5PM PT! 8:15PM ET- Our guest for the evening is “Bullet” Valentina Shevchenko. Following what can only be described as one of the most dominant wins in recent MMA history over Priscila Cachoeria this past weekend, Valentina has been the hottest topic in the combat sports headlines. With this impressive and authoritative victory, Shevchenko claimed the No. 1 spot in the women’s flyweight rankings and struck fear into the hearts of everyone in the division. Now eyeing gold in her new weight class, we’ll recap her incredible performance and discuss the looming title fight against current champ, Nicco Montano. Valentina will also share her thoughts on the backlash against referee Mario Yamasaki for not stopping the fight earlier, what she has planned for the remainder of 2018, and the likelihood that she battles Amanda Nunes once again before the end of the year. All that and much more with “Bullet!”

Tom Taylor - February 8, 2018

Referee Mario Yamasaki might the most unpopular man in MMA right now. The MMA community brought out the torches and pitchforks after he let Valentina Shevchenko brutalize the grossly outmatched Priscila Cachoeira for far longer than necessary last Saturday, and the backlash hasn’t stopped since. Of all the people to criticize Yamasaki, none did so with more ferocity than UFC President Dana White, who went so far as to promise we’ll never see the referee again.

Tom Taylor - February 8, 2018

In the wake of last weekend’s UFC Belem card, the UFC has updated its official rankings. The biggest shakeups in this latest iteration of the rankings can all be attributed to Valentina Shevchenko. Having left the UFC women’s bantamweight division (where she was formerly ranked number one), and officially announced herself in the UFC’s new women’s flyweight division, Shevchenko has caused tectonic shifts in both divisions.

Justin Golightly - February 7, 2018

There has been a lot on mixed opinions and controversy since Valentina Shevchenko’s domination against Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Belem. So much so, that Shevchenko’s amazing performance has taken a back seat to referee and corner criticism. Rose Namajunas has put in many hours with ‘The Bullet’ so she was watching the fight closely. She recently opened up about her thoughts on if they fight should have been stopped or not. If it was her? She definitely would have wanted the towel threw in. “That [late stoppage is] a touchy subject. I think clearly you saw that [Priscila Cachoeira] wasn’t going to improve her position [against Valentina Shevchenko]. So, you could definitely make the argument for that was a little too long.  […] I told my corner [Trevor Whitman] that if I’m lookin’ like that in a fight, the just throw in the towel for me, but that’s my personal choice. Those strikes on the canvas – in certain positions they weren’t that bad – but when you’re in full mount and somebody is raining down punches on you, your head is hitting the canvas too so it’s like double impact.”

Tom Taylor - February 5, 2018

Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Valentina Shevchenko could not have been more impressive in her Saturday night flyweight debut, out-landing her opponent Priscila Cachoeira by a 230-3 margin en-route to a second-round submission win. Regrettably, much of the buzz surrounding this fight has been negative, as the widespread perception is that referee Mario Yamasaki let this one-sided beatdown go on for far longer than it should have. Priscilla Cachoeira, you showed so much heart and toughness in that fight. I’m honored to have you fight in the UFC. Unfortunately the ref is there to protect you and Mario DID NOT do that. This isn’t his first disgusting performance in the octagon. Another unfortunate thing is that i can’t do anything about I️t only the Brazilian commission can and i am hoping after this scary, incompetent showing he hopefully will never set foot in that Octagon again. Strikes landed was 230-3.

Tom Taylor - February 5, 2018

Over the weekend, in the co-main event of the UFC’s trip to Belem, Brazilian flyweight Priscila Cachoeira stepped into the Octagon for the first time. Despite the fact she was making her UFC debut with just 8 pro fights behind her, her opponent was the vastly more experienced Valentina Shevchenko, who is widely regarded as one of the best female fighters on earth. In the end, Cachoeira’s experiential deficit manifested itself in a truly lopsided win for Shevchenko. The Kyrgyzstani contender out-landed her young Brazilian by an insane 230-3 margin en route to a second-round submission win. It was one of the most brutal beatdowns to hit our screens in a long, long time.

Tom Taylor - February 4, 2018

Last night, the UFC touched down in Belem, Brazil with UFC Fight Night 125. In the main event of this 11-fight card, struggling former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida turned back the clock with a close but impressive split decision win over formerly undefeated prospect Eryk Anders. In the co-main event, meanwhile, former UFC bantamweight title challenger Valentina Shevchenko authored one of the most lopsided victories of her impressive career thus far, eating Priscila Cachoeira alive in a brutal flyweight showdown.  At present, the official fight purses for this entertaining card have not yet been disclosed. We do, however, know how much the 22 fighters on the bill earned through the UFC’s athlete outfitting deal with Reebok.

Tom Taylor - February 4, 2018

Last night, in the co-main event of the UFC’s anticipated stop in Belem, Brazil, former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Valentina Shevchenko made her debut in the new UFC women’s flyweight division opposite Brazil’s Priscila Cachoeira. The fight was a downright mugging. From the opening bell, Shevchenko was an absolute predator, feasting on her opponent en route to a lopsided, second-round submission victory.

Drake Riggs - December 27, 2017

Prior to the massive upset that turned out to be Rose Namajunas vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Joanna was looking for a fight with Valentina Shevchenko at 135 lbs. Yep…that’s two weight classes above her own! The two have already fought before in Muay Thai but an opportunity arose back at UFC 213 when Amanda Nunes pulled out of the planned rematch against Shevchenko. This prompted a brief attempt from Joanna to make everything work in her favor so that she could save the card with Shevchenko. This obviously didn’t happen, but both were down for the fight and many had been hoping for an eventual super fight between the two at the weight between both of theirs in the Flyweight division. Of course, that’s still possible but it looks less likely now that Shevchenko’s teammate, Namajunas has dethroned Joanna. Shevchenko knows a thing or two about Namajunas as well as Joanna who she defeated three times in Muay Thai. In a recent interview on the MMA Hour, she claims to have predicted the outcome that occurred at UFC 217.

Drake Riggs - December 19, 2017

UFC 215 was the last event in which we saw top UFC Bantamweight contender, Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko competing inside the octagon. In that bout standing across from her was the champion, Amanda Nunes, a familiar opponent to Shevchenko as the both competed prior to this meeting at UFC 196. Nunes came out on top on both occasions, the first time being a unanimous decision and the second time by a split. Since Shevchenko’s last bout, the UFC has installed a Flyweight division which is where Shevchenko now looks to take her skillset for the foreseeable future. The UFC’s inaugural Flyweight champion, Nicco Montano has already commented saying she doesn’t think Shevchenko deserves the first crack at her title. And after a recent interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Shevchenko is okay with this.

Drake Riggs - December 12, 2017

Initially reported as in the works by Luciano Andrade of Combate, the rumored bout between Valentina Shevchenko and Priscila Cachoeira is on as confirmed by the UFC.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2017

Last weekend, Nicco Montano and Roxanne Modafferi stepped into the Octagon to compete in the first ever UFC women’s flyweight title fight. After five, fun, back and forth rounds, Montano came out on top, making history as the first female flyweight champ in UFC history. Unsurprisingly, long-time women’s bantamweight contender Valentina Shevchenko, who could well be the next flyweight title challenger, was watching closely. “I was watching the fight,” Shevchenko said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “It was a very good fight, a very entertaining fight. It was five rounds, no talk, not one girl wanted to quit and both girls put all the heart that they had [out there]. My number one goal, like it was before, and it still right now, is to be the champion of UFC, and I’m very glad that now we have one more weight class, 125. It’s my natural weight class, and I feel like fighting in this 125 [division], I will have more opportunity to show more skills, more technique, because it’s different when you have to fight with bigger sized opponent and it’s different when you have to fight with the same sized opponent. It doesn’t matter for me because in 135 I was feeling the same good. I was feeling very strong there and everything was great. But I feel for 125, it’s more natural weight class for me.”

Jason Kindschy - December 6, 2017

BJPENN Radio is live at 8PM ET/5PM PT! 8:15PM ET- First up, one of MMA’s most recognizable names, Joe “Diesel” Riggs joins us to preview his upcoming fight for the M-1 middleweight strap and what’s next for the long-time veteran. A return to the UFC? Another bare-knuckle boxing match? We’ll be discussing it all.

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2017

On November 4, in the first of the three title fights on the stacked UFC 217 bill, Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s strawweight title reign came to a crashing halt as she was knocked out by challenger Rose Namajunas in the first round. Since then, Jedrzejczyk has been campaigning relentlessly for an immediate rematch, and the chance to reclaim her title. In fact, she even claims she’ll get that rematch.