Valentina Shevchenko continued to prove that she is far from done by successfully defending her flyweight title in the co-main event on May 10.
All of the talk following the conclusion from UFC 315 was around the main event where Jack Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad with the result that has big implications for Islam Makhachev.
Though ‘Bullet’ continued to add to her stellar legacy with yet another title defense, it isn’t surprising in the slightest to see her continue to dominate at 125 pounds even if she was the underdog heading into the fight.
She defeated Manon Fiorot via unanimous decision with a potential super fight between Shevchenko and Zhang Weili now being on the cards.
Shevchenko already held a whole list of accolades before picking another one up with the first defense of her second flyweight title reign.
Valentina Shevchenko becomes the oldest fighter to defend a UFC title below middleweight
Having debuted in the UFC a decade ago, the longevity of Valentina Shevchenko at the highest level is remarkable and it doesn’t look like she’s slowing down either.
Some thought that her shock loss to Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 could signal a changing of the guard only for their trilogy to end with ‘Bullet’ reclaiming the belt in dominant fashion at UFC 306.
This longevity has seen her become just the sixth fighter in UFC history to win ten UFC title fights, joining the likes of Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre and her former opponent, Amanda Nunes.
That isn’t the only accolade that Shevchenko picked up after handing Manon Fiorot her first defeat inside the Octagon.
At 37 years old, the flyweight champion is now the oldest fighter, male or female, to successfully defend a title below the middleweight division.
Anderson Silva, who also has double digit wins in title fights, defended his middleweight title at 37 when he stopped Chael Sonnen in their UFC 148 rematch.
Alexander Volkanovski, who reclaimed the featherweight title last month, could tie Shevchenko’s record this year as he will turn 37 in September.
- READ MORE: Alexander Volkanovski questions the judges in Jose Aldo’s controversial UFC 315 retirement fight
Zhang Weili has to be next for Valentina Shevchenko
Valentina Shevchenko wants fans to vote on her next opponent by giving them the option of strawweight champion Zhang Weili or flyweight contender Natalia Silva, who defeated Alexa Grasso at UFC 315.
While Silva is a legitimate contender, with Zhang having Virna Jandiroba to face at 115 pounds, this is absolutely the right time for this matchup to take place.
They’re the top two women’s pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC and their dominance over their respective divisions more than justifies a super fight.
If there’s one thing that holds Shevchenko back from being in the conversation as the greatest of all time, it’s that she was beaten by Amanda Nunes on two occasions.
Beating Zhang would finally give her that super fight win that her career has been missing.