Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier made some bold predictions for 2022 including that Valentina Shevchenko will join him at being a two-division champion.
Shevchenko is currently the top pound-for-pound female fighter in the world. She’s holds the UFC 125-pound title. She used to compete in the 135-pound weight class until the creation of the flyweight division in 2017. She fought for the bantamweight title but came up short against former bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Shevchencko’s only two UFC losses are to Nunes, and one was by split decision.
Nunes no longer holds the 135-pound belt. Julianna Peña dethroned “The Lioness” at UFC 269 on Dec. 11 by second-round submission. Interestingly, Shevchenko holds a win over Peña. In her fight prior to fighting Nunes in a rematch for the bantamweight title, Shevchenko defeated Peña via second-round submission.
Nunes and Peña are expected to rematch, but Cormier believes Shevchenko will hold both belts by the end of the year. He also predicted that Peña will defeat Nunes again in the rematch.
“Not only do I not believe that Amanda is going to win that belt back, I believe that Valentina is going to win that belt and become the double-champion in 2022,” Cormier said during a segment on his ESPN MMA show DC & RC.
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Daniel Cormier predicts Valentina Shevcheko will be a two-division UFC champion this year
