UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko’s next title defense will be something special for her career.
Shevchenko (19-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) will defend her title against Jennifer Maia on Nov. 21 in the co-main event of UFC 255 in Las Vegas. This will be Shevchenko’s fourth title defense and the first time she competes on the same UFC card as her sister, fellow UFC flyweight Antonina.
Shevchenko is excited to make history as they will become the first sisters to fight at the same UFC event.
“This card is more special than others because for the first time in the history of the UFC, two sisters are going to fight on the same card,” Shevchenko said in Spanish on Hablemos MMA. “But it’s not only sisters but also brothers. Yes, there has been in the UFC brothers that fight in different weight classes and different events, but on the same event, and same (weight class) there hasn’t been. This would be the first time.”
Valentina last fought in February when she stopped Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 247. She’s coming off a knee injury that postponed her return to the cage from June to November.
Shevchenko has fought before on the same card with Antonina, but in different a sport. The two fought many times together during their muay Thai careers when they were younger.
Shevchenko misses sharing an event with Antonina, as she feels it’s a much better function logistically speaking.
“We always do the training camps together anyway, and we train together, helping each other out,” Shevchenko explained. “Now having this opportunity to fight on the same event, we’re also going to have the same opportunity to rest together.
“And most importantly, our trainer, master Pavel Fedotov, he’s going to get more of a break because he’s always training Antonina. She fights, and then he has to prepare me, and then I fight and back to Antonina, so yeah. We always have a rest, but he’s always working non stop, so this will be better for him too.”
Valentina Shevchenko: UFC 255 ‘more special than others’ to make history with sister Antonina
