Valentina Shevchenko is down for a champion vs. champion bout.
The UFC women’s flyweight titleholder is interested in a trilogy bout with two-division champ Amanda Nunes some time in the future. Shevchenko (19-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who defends her 125-pound title on Nov. 21 at UFC 255, is in no way underestimating her next opponent, Jennifer Maia, but thinks a trilogy bout with Nunes just makes sense.
“I think it would be logical,” Shevchenko said in Spanish on Monday’s episode of Hablemos MMA. “She’s been going through her opponents very easily, and I think that for the future, it would be logical to have a third fight because the second fight … I didn’t lose it. I won it.
Shevchenko and Nunes have fought twice at bantamweight – in 2016 at UFC 196 and at UFC 215 for the title in 2017. The two fights were competitive and both ended in decisions.
Their second encounter ended in a split decision, and many thought Shevchenko did enough to get the nod from the judges. Shevchenko thinks she won the fight and is confident a third time would be different.
“This fight right now, as champion vs. champion, I think the judges will have a different outlook towards the fight,” Shevchenko said. “Three years ago in 2017 when we had our fight, they thought that just that one thing gave her the victory, and that was the takedown she got in the fifth round. She didn’t even start it – it was me who initiated. But since it was the final round, we were both slippery. She’s heavier, so I ended on bottom when I was supposed to land on top.
“That’s the only thing that gave her a small advantage in the eyes of the judges that night. But that’s how it went down, and I think it would be very logical to have that third fight between us.”
Since their UFC 215 bout, Nunes went on to win the 145-pound title and became the first woman to hold belts in two different weight classes simultaneously. She’s also become one of the most dominant forces in the sport.
Meanwhile, Shevchenko’s stock also has skyrocketed. She dropped to 125 pounds and has established herself as a dominant champion of the division as one of the most technical fighters in women’s MMA.
Shevchenko has the trilogy bout with Nunes in mind, but she’s not letting that stray her focus on her Nov. 21 title defense. Her main goal is to defend her belt and continue her reign in the women’s flyweight division.
“Bullet” has no potential date in mind for when she’d like to fight Nunes, but she knows one thing: She’d like fans in the building for such big fight against Nunes, who many consider the greatest of all time in women’s MMA.
“To be honest, I don’t know (when I’d like to fight Nunes) and I haven’t thought about it because right now I’m focused on my weight class – 125 pounds,” Shevchenko said. “All I have in mind these days is being dominant and retain my belt again and again, and that’s what I think of when I put thought in my near future. I think if this fight goes down in the future, I would definitely like to have the fans around me and the public back and not in an empty arena.”
Valentina Shevchenko: Trilogy fight with Amanda Nunes ‘would be very logical’
