Valentina Shevchenko reacts to former Muay Thai rival Wang Cong’s warning following UFC debut win
Former UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko reacted humorously to Wang Cong’s callout following a successful promotional debut last month.
Shevchenko will face UFC flyweight titleholder Alexa Grasso in the UFC 306 co-main event. Their trilogy is the first in UFC women’s flyweight history and features two of the greatest female fighters on the planet.
Shevchenko’s next UFC fight comes just weeks after her former Muay Thai rival, Cong, earned a viral knockout in her UFC debut. She finished Victoria Leonardo in just over a minute after earning a shot in the promotion via Road to UFC.
After the win, Cong took a shot at Shevchenko and called her out for a future UFC fight. She questioned Shevchenko’s striking credentials and promoted her chances in an MMA rematch.
It didn’t take long for Shevchenko to respond to some of Cong’s comments.
Valentina Shevchenko reacts to Wang Cong’s callout
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie‘s Mike Bohn, Shevchenko responded to Cong’s callout.
“That was so funny,” Shevchenko said of Cong. “The promotion that we fought, was in China. And if you would’ve seen the judges back there in China, in that promotion, the judge of [Shevchenko vs. Grasso 2] would be an angel. To win in that promotion, you have to not only knock out your opponent, you have to make sure that she’ll lay down…
“All Muay Thai fighters who fought in China back then would say the same thing. Even after the fight, I posted a video of our fight on YouTube, and it was a crazy amount of comments saying ‘What are the judges looking at? Are they there?’. But then the organization filed a claim against that video because of privacy…it’s very hard to [praise] when it’s your first fight against an opponent [I’ve never heard of her]. Let’s see what she’s going to claim and if she’ll have the same power against Top 10 opponents. Let’s see what’s happening!”
Cong is now 6-0 in her career and could potentially earn a spot in the Top 15 with a few more wins. She defeated Shevchenko by unanimous decision at Kunlun Fight 33 in 2015.
While a future rematch between Cong and Shevchenko isn’t out of the question, it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. In the meantime, Shevchenko is focused on revenge against Grasso as Cong continues her rise.
