“Grab a Hold of Valentina Shevchenko”: Miesha Tate on Fighting UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion in the Future

Published 06/14/2022, 1:08 AM EDT

Valentina Shevchenko successfully retained her women’s flyweight championship at UFC 275. Her long winning streak and performances in the Octagon have sealed her name as one of the best fighters in the promotion. However, Miesha Tate thinks she can stop Shevchenko.

In a new interview with Ariel Helwani, Tate spoke about her upcoming fight. She will step down to the flyweight division and take on second-ranked Lauren Murphy. As ‘Cupcake’ obviously wants to get a title fight quickly, the matchup seems like a great one for her.

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Tate further spoke about Valentina Shevchenko and said, “… if I come in and beat the number two ranked woman in the division, I feel like that definitely puts me in the conversation, right? And enter the chat.”

‘Cupcake’ felt Taila Santos should have won the UFC 275 fight against Shevchenko. She said, “You cannot underestimate what Valentina can do on the ground. You know, that would be you know a remiss by anybody to say like she’s not dangerous there. She certainly is. But you know, she got taken down by Julianna Peña and she now, second time, she got taken down by somebody who can wrestle, and the transitions were on point.”

Why Did Miesha Tate Leave ONE FC?

“Taila believed in herself and she didn’t second guess her routes and she out-scrambled Valentina on the ground and these are things that I’ve been saying, I believe that I could do. I am capable of doing these things. I am capable of making this fight much more interesting than people who are too timid to force their way in and grab a hold of Valentina Shevchenko.”

Would Miesha Tate be able to defeat Valentina Shevchenko?

‘Bullet’ is currently on a nine-fight win streak. While some may disagree with her win over Santos, Shevchenko still remains at the top of her division and the women’s pound-for-pound rankings.

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Tate successfully knocked out Marion Reneau after her return in 2021. However, she lost her next fight against Ketlen Vieira at bantamweight.

Considering the rankings and the state of things at 125, if Tate manages to defeat Murphy, she could soon get a flyweight title fight. It would be interesting to see if wrestling would give Tate an edge over Shevchenko. After all, the UFC women’s flyweight champion is dangerous when standing.

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Watch this story: A Look Back At Joanna Jędrzejczyk’s Illustrious MMA Career

Who do you think would win between Tate and Shevchenko? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by:

Rohini Kottu is a UFC Writer at EssentiallySports. She is also a Psychologist and has a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology. Rohini, in her role as a UFC writer, combines her admiration for the mental resilience that MMA fighters have and her love for analysis.

Edited by:

Reubyn Coutinho

“Grab a Hold of Valentina Shevchenko”: Miesha Tate on Fighting UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion in the Future

Would Miesha Tate be able to defeat Valentina Shevchenko?

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