Valentina Shevchenko won’t rule out UFC bantamweight return after flyweight title win: “We will make the decision”

Fresh off a UFC flyweight title win, Valentina Shevchenko won’t rule out a move to bantamweight.

‘Bullet’ recently appeared in the cage in the co-main event of Noche UFC last month in Las Vegas. There, Valentina Shevchenko faced Alexa Grasso for the third, and likely final time. Over a year and a half after losing the gold to the Mexican fighter, the former champion avenged her defeat.

Ultimately, Valentina Shevchenko left UFC 306 with a lopsided unanimous decision victory. Following the win, many figured the newly crowned champion would face fellow striker Manon Fiorot. For her part, ‘The Beast’ hasn’t competed since a unanimous decision victory over Erin Blanchfield in March.

However, that fight isn’t guaranteed. Speaking in a recent interview with Bodog Canada, Valentina Shevchenko was asked about UFC 307’s co-main event between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena. ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ ultimately emerged with a split-decision victory over ‘Rocky’ over the weekend in Salt Lake City.

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Valentina Shevchenko opens up on bantamweight move following UFC 306 title win

There, Valentina Shevchenko showed interest in moving up to 135 pounds. While ‘Bullet’ added that the move might not happen immediately, she refuses to rule it out. If Shevchenko decides to head up to bantamweight, she will need to take some time to put on weight properly.

“You know, I was so busy working on returning my belt back at flyweight, so I didn’t have a chance to think about anything else,” Valentina Shevchenko said. “I was focusing so much on Alexa [Grasso]. For a year-and-a-half, the only one person I was thinking of was her.” (h/t MMA News)

“I’m not discarding any opportunities. I’m not saying something like, ‘No!’ But yeah, when I recover from the last fight and we go back and see my team, my manager…we will make the decision,” Shevchenko continued. “Probably for me to go up to bantamweight, it would have to pass some time to build up back my muscles. Spending so long at flyweight, I kind of get smaller. … But if I decide to move up, it has to be right.”

What do you make of these comments from the UFC women’s flyweight champion? Do you want to see Valentina Shevchenko return to bantamweight?