UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko has a bone to pick with one former fighter.
Shevchenko, regarded among the greatest female fighters in MMA history, is currently celebrating the continuation of her second rule as queen at 125 pounds.
Having surged back to top spot with an avenging victory over Alexa Grasso inside the Sphere last September, Shevchenko returned at UFC 315 in defense of her title.
Manon Fiorot was tasked with cutting the Kyrgyz fighter’s reign short, but the Frenchwoman was unable to win on the judges’ scorecards at UFC 315.
But although Shevchenko got her hand raised at UFC 315 in Montreal, not everyone was impressed.
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Valentina Shevchenko responds after Chael Sonnen continues his tirade
As is frequently the case after Shevchenko appears in the Octagon, Chael Sonnen was quick to offer his view on the longtime dominant flyweight force.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel titled, ‘Chael has a problem with Valentina Shevchenko’, the former UFC title challenger claimed that the champ isn’t being “real” with the fans, is “not a nice girl,” and could even be a spy.
Shevchenko hit back during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, jokingly suggesting that she’d like to confront ‘The Bad Guy’.
“I don’t know what’s happening with Chael and what problem he has with me,” Shevchenko said. “I am nice! I am not a spy!
“Speaking with me, do you feel [I’m] a bad person? … All our conversation is online. I would like to meet him and ask him directly, what is his thinking and what problem he has with me.
“Chael Sonnen, let’s find out what problem you have with me.”
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Chael Sonnen was also ‘bothered’ by Valentina Shevchenko last year
Sonnen’s apparent issues with Shevchenko and her approach as a UFC champion go far deeper than just the recent UFC 315 pay-per-view.
As well as frequently dismissing talk of ‘Bullet’ boasting star power in the promotion, the American had criticism for the way she handled the post-fight interview at the Sphere last year.
During his Good Guy/Bad Guy show with Daniel Cormier, Sonnen admitted being rubbed the wrong way by Shevchenko’s failure to acknowledge Fiorot as next in line.
“I feel like it’s clear that Fiorot is next. She was almost that night. And after the fight, Valentina went in a different direction. She wanted to thank Hunter Campbell and Dana White as opposed to call out an opponent,” Sonnen said.
“I felt for Fiorot. To get licensed, go through all the medicals, go through the training camp, the weight cut, and there’s no opportunity, which means there’s not a very big check to split up with your team. At a minimum, you could have had a callout. … On a human level, to a degree, it bothered me.”
It remains to be seen whether Shevchenko and Sonnen can resolve their differences. If not, the latter will likely have further critical videos in the chamber.