UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko’s first title reign began with a bang.
Valentina Shevchenko is inarguably one of the greatest fighters, male or female, in UFC history. As she prepares to begin her second flyweight title reign, we’ll look back at the spine-tingling way Shevchenko kicked off her first go-around on the throne.
Shevchenko will face the surging Manon Fiorot in the UFC 315 co-main event next Saturday in Montreal. After a decisive win over Alexa Grasso in their UFC 306 trilogy, Shevchenko will look to kick off her second stint as the UFC women’s flyweight champion in similar fashion to her first run.
After defeating the legendary Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the first UFC women’s flyweight title matchup, Shevchenko faced Jessica Eye at UFC 238, a card headlined by Henry Cejudo’s successful attempt at ‘champ-champ’ status.
Valentina Shevchenko needed one kick for her first successful title defense
Shevchenko wasted no time establishing her game plan against Eye in the UFC 238 co-main event. She quickly found her rhythm with leg kicks in the opening round, and had Eye on her back foot for the majority of the opening minutes.
In the second round, Shevchenko ended the action almost as quickly as it started.
Shevchenko and Eye met in the middle of the Octagon to begin Round 2, with Eye trying to find her timing to potentially shoot for a takedown. But keeping a low guard ended up being Eye’s downfall against the flyweight champion.
Shevchenko countered Eye’s low guard by landing a perfectly-timed head kick that knocked Eye unconscious on the canvas. The Chicago crowd went nuts as Shevchenko celebrated her wild knockout and successful first title defense.
You can check out Shevchenko’s highlight-reel finish below.
PFL champ promises to dethrone Valentina Shevchenko in crossover fight
2024 PFL champion Dakota Ditcheva, who has teased a future move to the UFC Octagon, is supremely confident in her chances against Shevchenko in a potential crossover matchup. In a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, Ditcheva hinted a clash with Shevchenko wouldn’t go the full distance, touting her ability to earn quick finishes throughout her young career.
Shortly after publicly expressing frustration with an uncertain return timeline, Ditcheva will return on a July pay-per-view card in the PFL against a to-be-announced opponent. She hasn’t fought since finishing Shevchenko’s former UFC rival, Taila Santos, at the 2024 PFL Championships.
If Shevchenko gets past Fiorot in her upcoming fight, she’ll be in desperate need of new, fresh challengers in the flyweight division. She’s already gone through most of the division’s top contenders, including her recent win over Grasso, who also returns at UFC 315 against Natalia Silva.
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