UFC Strawweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is one of this generation’s most dominant and well-rounded female mixed martial artists and possibly of all time. However, she started as a professional and had an extensive amateur career in the world of Muay Thai. So much like Rafael Fiziev, we want to put Valentina Shevchenko’s Muay Thai career under the microscope and take a deeper look into her past fighting career.
What are Valentina Shevchenko’s accolades in Muay Thai?
You’ll often hear that Valentina Schevchenko is 17 times Muay Thai world champion, which is true. However, this is on the amateur scene. Winning gold medals at the International Federation of Muay Thai Associations or IFMA, which is the most respected sanctioning body for international amateur Muay Thai. So despite this not being a professional title, the world champion title is still very impressive. As Olympic boxing champions are still amateurs, their accomplishments are among the highest in all combat sports.
But what did Valentina do as a professional fighter in Muay Thai? Was it just as impressive? The answer is mostly yes, as Valentina, although she didn’t reach the same heights as an amateur, still won world titles in both Kickboxing and Muay Thai.
With her winning a Kunlun Fight kickboxing world title, the biggest kickboxing promotion out of China, that has had many notable fighters competing for them. Such as Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, so this title is a very legitimate world title in Kickboxing.
Not only that, but Valentina Shevchenko has also won a major Muay Thai title, the World Muay Thai Council world title, or WMC for short. Winning this title back in 2012, she had a proper Muay Thai world title and her kickboxing world title.
What does this mean for her MMA career?
As you can see, her continued success in combat sports at the twilight of her athletic career has helped Valentina Shevchenko quite a bit. Her striking has always been a factor and a tool that she doesn’t over-rely on. Even someone as skilled as her can be outdone in the striking department.
When facing heavy-handed Mexican Alexa Grasso, Valentina Shevchenko proved she was more than just a striker when she used her excellent wrestling ability and athleticism to neutralize the threat to not just a Muay Thai fighter but a true martial artist. This is why Valentina Shevchenko will likely go down as one of the best ever to do it, like Cris Cyborg and her peer Amanda Nunes.
