When it comes to super fights in the future, Valentina Shevchenko thinks Amanda Nunes is the likeliest option.
Shevchenko defended her women’s flyweight title for the second time when she comfortably outpointed Liz Carmouche in the main event of UFC Uruguay last night. The result, nor the manner of it, didn’t surprise anyone as “Bullet” seems to be levels above the rest of her division.
As a result, talks of a super fight aren’t unsurprising either. Strawweight champion Jessica Andrade has spoken of potentially challenging Shevchenko, while the option of a trilogy fight with Nunes, the bantamweight and featherweight queen, is also a possibility — especially with many believing Shevchenko won their second fight.
The latter seems to be more possible according to Shevchenko, but that said, there could still be some time before we see it.
“With Jessica, I don’t know,” Shevchenko said in the post-fight ESPN show.
“I see more likely Amanda, maybe. But not right now. Maybe when my sister will be on the top, number one contender. Then I tell her ‘okay, you fight for the title, I’ll go to bantamweight.’ I don’t know yet, I don’t know yet.”
What Shevchenko does know, however, is that her goal is to be a dominant champion who keeps racking up the title defenses before any potential super fight.
“This is my goal,” she explained. “This is my goal for now because I was fighting for so long in different weight classes with bigger opponents, heavier, taller. It makes all the difference. Now I have this opportunity to fight against the same-sized opponents to show everything that I have, to show all my skills.”
With the division still fairly new, there are not many title contenders to choose from now. Katlyn Chookagian, however, seems to be next in line and that’s a fight, like any, that Shevchenko is open to.
“Interesting that for this fight, it was first, UFC made an offer for me to fight Katlyn in July and I accepted this,” she explained. “But because of personal things, she decided to take time off and that’s why they find Liz Carmouche because she’s #3 in the flyweight rankings.
“As I’m saying, I’m open for anyone… I will say yes [to any opponent the UFC offers.] ”