“I Don’t Look at My Opponent and Prepare”- Valentina Shevchenko Opens up on Upcoming Flyweight Title Defense

Published 10/31/2020, 7:33 AM EDT

Valentina Shevchenko is the current women’s flyweight champion. She is also the #3 ranked pound for pound female fighter in the UFC. ‘Bullet’ has been terrorizing the flyweight division for a while now. She will aim to defend her belt for the fourth time against Jennifer Maia.

Thus far Shevchenko has been able to put away her opponents fairly easily however, Jennifer Maia is as tough as they come and will pose a big threat to Valentina’s title. With a little over three weeks for her fourth title defense, ‘Bullet’ gave her thoughts on her upcoming opponent.

Read: “It Doesn’t make sense” Valentina Shevchenko surprised with recent pound-for-pound rankings

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Valentina Shevchenko analyses her upcoming match against Jennifer Maia

In a recent interview, James Lynch of Line Movement MMA asked Valentina what she thought of her match up against Jennifer Maia stylistically. ‘Bullet’ replied, “Oh you know, I don’t look at my opponent and prepare for the fight accordingly with the movement of my opponent. I would definitely consider it but doesn’t mean I will do something different. Because I prepare myself as much as I can, to have all situations worked.”

Valentina continued, “She’s a good striker, she has good grappling, good wrestling, and she has a very good mindset. Go every time forwards…Good cardio. So yeah, this is the kind of opponent I want for me…. It will be a very good fight.”

‘Bullet’ was initially supposed to fight Joanne Calderwood at UFC 251. However, Valentina suffered an injury, and the UFC opted to reschedule the fight.

Joanne Calderwood accepted a fight against Jennifer Maia in August this year in preparation for her fight against ‘Bullet’ However, things did not go to plan as Maia submitted Calderwood in the very round of the fight to seal her title shot with Shevchenko.

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Read: WATCH: Jennifer Maia Stuns Joanne Calderwood With a Crazy Armbar to Set up Title Fight With Valentina Shevchenko

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Shevchenko’s last fight was a title defense against Katlyn Chookagian in February this year. At UFC 247 ‘Bullet’ stopped Chookagian in the third round to seal her third title defense.

‘Bullet’ has looked seemingly unstoppable and a class above the rest at flyweight. However, Maia has the skill and the experience to pose a serious threat to one of the most dominant title reigns. Is Shevchenko right in not looking at her opponent and preparing specifically for her?

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Kevin Binoy is an MMA author at EssentiallySports. He earned a Bachelor's degree from Fergusson College and has been covering sports professionally for over two years. Besides working with the MMA writing team, Kevin is a core member of the organization's web stories team and is responsible for delivering engaging MMA web stories.

“I Don’t Look at My Opponent and Prepare”- Valentina Shevchenko Opens up on Upcoming Flyweight Title Defense

Valentina Shevchenko analyses her upcoming match against Jennifer Maia

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