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LAS VEGAS – Valentina Shevchenko just got into a fight on Saturday and she is already planning her comeback.
UFC Flyweight Champion Shevchenko (19-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) defeated challenger Jennifer Maia (18-6-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) by unanimous decision in the main co-event of UFC 255.
During a post-fight press conference, Shevchenko revealed that she hopes to stay active for the immediate future. Even if she wants to come back soon, the opponent doesn’t matter. She’ll fight everyone the UFC offers.
In a just world, Shevchenko said, there is a fair contender struggle to be fought. However, she fears that a No.1 fight between Jessica Andrade and Lauren Murphy would isolate her from returning for her next title defense.
“I don’t choose my opponents,” said Shevchenko. “The one who will be in front of me is the one I am going to face. To me it doesn’t make any difference – Andrade or somebody else, somebody else or whoever. I think it would be fair to have Andrade against Lauren Murphy because Lauren Murphy has shown her strengths and has a lot of wins – like back-to-back wins.
“But the question (is) whether I want to wait that much. I don’t want to wait too long because I was already expecting a lot and I don’t accept to wait any longer (for) their fight (to happen) and (for when) they need to recover. It’ll be in a few months from now. I’m ready to go back to the octagon as soon as I feel good and feel good.
Andrade (21-8 MMA, 12-6 UFC) made his debut at 125 pounds on October 18 after consecutive straw weight losses. In her only UFC flyweight appearance to date, Andrade won a first-round TKO finish against former UFC women’s flyweight title challenger Katlyn Chookagian.
After years of competing in the UFC, Murphy (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) had one of the longest winning streaks of his career. Her current four-game winning streak was capped by a second round submission from Lilya Shakirova at UFC 254 on October 24.
With his win at UFC 255, Shevchenko successfully defended his 125-pound title for the fourth time in a row and extended his winning streak to six. Her only losses in the UFC came in bantamweight against current UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes in 2015 and 2017.
UFC 255 took place on Saturday at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card was released pay-per-view after preliminaries on ESPN + / ESPN2 / UFC Fight Pass.
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