Valentina Shevchenko’s next title defense opposite Joanne Calderwood at UFC 251

UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko has her next assignment.

The women’s flyweight champion has verbally agreed to face Joanne Calderwood at UFC 251 on June 6 with a location for the card still to be determined.

Both fighters have accepted the fight with bout agreements expected to be signed in the coming days. ESPN initially reported the matchup on Wednesday.

Shevchenko just fought at UFC 247 in early February where she dismantled Katlyn Chookagian before finishing her by second-round TKO. It was the third straight defense for Shevchenko since winning the flyweight title in 2018.

She has been a huge favorite in all of her title defenses. It’s expected Shevchenko will face similar odds while going up against Calderwood in June.

---

TRENDING > Champ Zhang Weili secures visa to travel to United States for UFC 248

---

The Scottish flyweight will seek to pull off the upset when she faces Shevchenko in her first title fight opportunity in the UFC.

After previously competing in the UFC strawweight division, Calderwood moved up to 125 pounds where she has amassed a 4-1 record overall. Calderwood is currently coming off of a win over Andrea Lee in her last outing at UFC 242 in September 2019.

Shevchenko vs. Calderwood is the first confirmed fight for the UFC 251 card with another title bout expected to take place in June. The UFC hasn’t yet determined a location or venue for the card.