After narrowly losing her rematch with bantamweight champion Amanda nunes last weekend, Valentina Shevchenko is now plotting a move down to the UFC’s newly created women’s flyweight division instead.
“I’m thinking to move to 125 (pounds), and I think more probably my next fight it will be in this division,” Shevchenko told Submission Radio yesterday. “Because 125 is like much closer weight for me. It’s my real weight category, and even at 135 I feel comfortable, and I feel like 125 I will be able to use all my techniques and all my skills because I will fight with the same-sized opponents as me.”
This isn’t an unexpected move as there’s always been suggested that ‘Bullet’ is a little undersized for 135lbs, though it’s a credit to her skill-set that she’s been able to operate at such a high level there, defeating the likes of Holly Holmh, Julianna Pena and Sarah Kaufman along the way.
However, 125lbs is likely to be a much more natural fit for her.
“In my Muay Thai fights, I was fighting every time at 125. The last year I was moving a little bit up in weight class, but it was 130. So I feel very comfortable at 125.
“And even at 125, we can have like opponents (that are) very tall, but of course it will be the same physical conditions – the same head, the same size arms and everything, the same like mine.”
That being said, Shevchenko also still believes that a third fight with Nunes will happen at some stage in the future, given the close nature of their previous two encounters.
“Of course, it’s on my mind, and I still want it. Not right now, not in the near future, but definitely it will happen.”
