V. Shevchenko after victory over T. Santos in UFC 275 (Photo: Instagram/UFC)
Once seen as having no worthy opponents, the flyweight champion (up to 56,7kg) Valentina Shevchenko has recently witnessed the emergence of new promises from the division, as is the case of its next challenger Alexa grasso and third place in the category ranking, Erin Blanchfield, with whom a possible rivalry is already starting to heat up.
After having his jiu-jitsu level questioned by Blanchfield in a recent interview, Valentina Shevchenko responded with good humor, comparing the 23-year-old to a “puppy” during her appearance on the “MMA Hour” podcast.
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“It's really fun to see her saying that, especially when it comes from a 23-year-old girl with five UFC fights under her belt. It's very funny. For me, it's nice to compare it to when you see a little puppy. He's barking around, jumping, happy. He hasn't really seen life yet, he hasn't experienced any problems and his ears are pricked. When the puppy grows up, he enters adulthood and begins to experience these real-life problems. They begin to learn how to survive, how to cope, how to be smart, how to find their lifestyles. That's what's happening to these fighters. They are young and not yet afraid. They haven't been under much pressure yet. This happens before the first blows, the first real competition. It happened to Maycee barber and many other fighters. Once that happens, you kind of start to see them speak in a different way. You see them as more mature people. It's fun to not only see them saying that now, but to see them saying the complete opposite in a year or two,” replied Valentina.
In search of the eighth defense of the flyweight belt, Valentina Shevchenko faces the Mexican Alexa grasso in the co-main event of UFC 285, this Saturday (5), in Las Vegas, in the United States.
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