Valentina Shevchenko just wants to fight.
Last month, Dana White announced that Shevchenko would put her flyweight championship on the line against No. 2 ranked contender Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 on May 10.
The news came as a bit of a surprise to fight fans after White appeared to be on board for a champion vs. champion clash between ‘Bullet’ and reigning strawweight queen Zhang Weili. ‘Magnum’ scored a dominant decision victory over Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312 and immediately floated the idea of moving up to face Shevchenko in what would undoubtedly be one of the biggest women’s fights in UFC history.
Unfortunately, that won’t be Shevchenko’s next fight, but during a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Shevchenko offered some insight into why she chose to fight Fiorot over waiting for Weili to recover.
“I don’t care much about, like, what process is going on in their mind, what they’re thinking, what fight is going to be better for the promotions,” Shevchenko said. “I’m just here to fight, and this is what’s important for me. They throw me a name, I accept this name.
“For me, I’ve never been someone who says, ‘Oh, I don’t want to fight this girl, I want to fight this fighter.’ No. I love to fight. This is my martial arts. It’s my life—my lifestyle.”
Manon Fiorot has earned her shot at valentina Shevchenko
After surrendering the flyweight crown to Alexa Grasso in 20223, Shevchenko took back the title at UFC 306.
While fans probably would have preferred to see Shevchenko vs. Zhang next, there’s no denying that Manon Fiorot has more than earned her opportunity. Since signing with the promotion in 2021, ‘The Beast’ has gone a perfect 7-0 with wins over Katlyn Cerminara, ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas, and Erin Blanchfield in her last three outings.
Fiorot has not lost a fight since a 2018 split decision loss to Leah McCourt under the Cage Warriors banner.
UFC 315 will emanate from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and will also see UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad put his gold on the line for the first time against Aussie knockout artist Jack Della Maddalena.
