Valentina Shevchenko responds to Henry Cejudo calling her out in a conversation with Ariel Helwani.

Valentina Shevchenko is the current women’s Flyweight champ. The double division champ Cejudo wants to become the first inter-gender champion, and considers Valentina Shevchenko the right opponent for such a match.

The two went back and forth on Twitter. As an April Fool’s prank, Cejudo even responded to a twitter article saying the pair have been matched for UFC 249. Cejudo jokingly tweeted that his wishes have finally come true!

Henry Cejudo, at every press conference or interview, finds a way to bring Shevchenko’s name into the conversation. He is persistent about becoming the first inter-gender champ. Is he actually serious?

Valentina Shevchenko bites back at Henry Cejudo

Recently, talks of Valentina Shevchenko training at Henry Cejudo’s gym gave surfaced. When Helwani brought this up, Shevchenko confirmed the news. She said, “We were training at the same gym, Yeah! A couple of trainings.” She as well played along with the joke saying, “I should study my opponent.”

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However, Shevchenko wasn’t in the gym for an all-out training session. She is still recovering from an injury and was there only for a brief session. The training was actually focused on her sister. They were in the gym at the same time, yes! But there was no actual cross-training between the two champs.

Similar to Joe Rogan, even Ariel Helwani gave Shevchenko the upper hand over Cejudo. He said, “I mean you could beat him up even with the injured leg if I’m being honest.” Agreeing to Helwani’s statement, Shevchenko said, “No doubt. No doubt at all”

The camaraderie between the two has always been healthy. Cejudo and Shevchenko love joking around and having a go at each other. Even at the gym Shevchenko said he was very welcoming and to humor things up, said, “Of course. He has to be nice. He better be nice, right?”

What do you think? Does Henry Cejudo have a shot at this inter-gender championship?