Valentina Shevchenko nonetheless plans on finishing her trilogy with reigning two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes, even when ‘The Lioness’ has seemingly moved on.
Nunes can be again in motion on Saturday night time because the promotion returns to the Nice White North for UFC 289, headlined by a girls’s bantamweight world title battle between Nunes and No. 5 ranked contender Irena Aldana. Ought to Nunes go away Vancouver together with her 135-pound crown intact, ‘The Lioness’ will doubtless discover herself as soon as once more on a collision course with division rival Julianna Pena, however a 3rd assembly with Shevchenko appears inevitable to everybody. Everybody, besides Nunes.
Showing on the UFC 289 media occasion on Wednesday, Nunes recommended {that a} third battle with Valentina Shevchenko “don’t promote nothing” and additional disrespected the previous flyweight world champion, believing the ‘holes in her recreation‘ straight led to her submission loss towards Alexa Grasso in March. ‘Bullet’ didn’t take kindly to Nunes’ feedback and snapped again on the basic consensus girls’s MMA GOAT.
“I feel this battle remains to be going to occur,” Shevchenko informed CBS Sports activities. “The primary step is taking my belt again.
“I can undoubtedly say the identical factor about her battle with Julianna Pena. I really feel like she’s attempting to place everybody down and take away the respect they deserve. I really feel it’s not good. Being an expert, being a martial artist, it’s a must to give credit score to everybody. Seeing issues like this simply reveals what sort of particular person she is. She’s not a great particular person it appears to be like like.”
Valentina Shevchenko is Decided to Take Her Belt Again in Alexa Grasso Rematch
In December 2021, Julianna Pena shocked the world when she virtually walked via Amanda Nunes at UFC 269, submitting ‘The Lioness’ within the second spherical to seize her first UFC title. The ‘Venezuelan Vixen’ handed the strap again to Nunes seven months later, struggling a dominant five-round unanimous resolution defeat. With the fighters sitting at 1-1, a trilogy battle at all times felt inevitable although it wasn’t one followers had been clamoring for.
Experiencing her personal stunning upset contained in the Octagon this yr, Valentina Shevchenko believes being a champion for therefore lengthy makes one really feel complacent and at occasions, virtually invincible. However now that she has been introduced again right down to earth, she’s able to get again to what made her a world champion within the first place, simply as Nunes did in her rematch with Pena.
“Being the champion for a very long time, you get used to it,” Shevchenko mentioned. “Everyone seems to be saying you’re the best and also you’re the most effective. You’re taking it even when you don’t wish to hear. Your mind takes it. Now it’s again to the roots. Again to the way you began. To be fierce and indignant such as you had been originally. They will research me all day lengthy. All yr lengthy. They may truly take nothing from that. Sure, she will repeat a sequence and take an opportunity alternative, however I gained’t give her any probabilities in our subsequent battle.”
A rematch between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso is predicted to go down earlier than 2023 involves an in depth, however no official date or location has been introduced.
Regardless of Amanda Nunes already holding two victories over Valentina Shevchenko, do you wish to see them full their trilogy?
