The UFC flyweight is miles away from replacing Valentina Shevchenko from GOAT status despite her recent struggles.
summary
- Valentina Shevchenko prepares for a trilogy fight against Alexa Grasso.
- Krygizstani has already defended her title as champion multiple times and has beaten several other all-timers in the women’s division.
Valentina Shevchenko briefly defined the history of women’s mixed martial arts in the UFC but her reign as champion of the flyweight division was nothing short of legendary. The Kyrgyz fighter has competed against some of the best athletes in the women’s division in the UFC with victories over Juliana Pena, Joanna Jedrzejczak and more.
In 2018, after defeating Joanna for the flyweight title at UFC 231, Shevchenko held championship status for nearly six years before meeting Alexa Grasso in the Octagon for the first time. The Mexican 16-3-1 fighter was able to submit the former champion in their first bout but their second fight was a draw. Shevchenko believes he did enough to regain the title, but it wasn’t enough.
A win over Alexa Grasso would permanently cement Valentina Shevchenko’s name as the flyweight GOAT.
Valentina Shevchenko could retire after fighting Grasso for the third time and still be called the greatest female flyweight of all time. After defeating Jedrzejczyk, the Maui Thai specialist defended his title seven times. She fought against several dangerous knockout artists, in addition to wins over Jessica Andrade, Lauren Murphy, Jessica Eye, Jennifer Maia, Liz Carmouche, Caitlin Sarminara and Tayla Santos.
🔥 UFC flyweight champ 🇲🇽 Alexa Grasso and former champ 🇰🇬 Valentina Shevchenko face off in Vegas ahead of their trilogy fight #UFC306 (aka Noche UFC 2) September 14. Who are you supporting? #WMMA #UFC pic.twitter.com/kO7NVblcpR
— Women’s MMA Rankings (@WMMARankings) July 31, 2024
Impressively, each of these fights ended in either KO/TKO or unanimous decision, except for his last fight against Santos which was a split decision. Now, scheduled to fight Grasso for the third time, Bullet has nothing to lose for Shevchenko. Valentina has done enough to cement herself as the best female flyweight fighter. Reclaiming the belt as Noche UFC will only push him further away from the rest.
The UFC women’s flyweight division has the most talent but the least amount of traction
While one might assume that the women’s divisions aren’t doing much at the moment, the unfortunate truth is that the UFC isn’t promoting too many women’s fights. If you look at the flyweight division alone, there are fighters like Rose Namajunas, Macy Barber, Jessica Andrade and many others who have had exceptional fights recently. Namajunad’s ascent to weightlessness brought more attention to the flyweight division as well.
Tiger is a Muay Thai fighter @Bullet Valentina Returned to camp
Fresh off coaching her team on Season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter, Valentina is now back to focus on preparing for her UFC flyweight title rematch vs. Alexa Grasso 👊 with Coach Pavel#mma #TigerMuaythai pic.twitter.com/cOiz5kuiQc
— Tiger Muay Thai (@tigermuaythai) June 23, 2024
While there may be some serious money fights, the UFC hasn’t focused as much on these divisions. In fact, since winning the title, Grasso has only fought Valentina Shevchenko when she could have been active and defended her belt against a #2 or #3 ranked flyweight. But after facing draws and coaching TUF with Shevchenko, it’s only right these men face each other before anyone else gets a title shot.