“One of the best MMA athletes ever” – Colbey Northcutt is all praise for Valentina Shevchenko, wants fight with ‘Bullet’

Colbey Northcutt wants to be the first to become women's flyweight world champion for ONE Championship when the belt is inaugurated.

Sage Northcutt’s sister has grand aspirations for her MMA career in the Asian promotion, but she also has her eye on another top star overseas, that being UFC flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko.

Speaking with ONE Championship, Colbey Northcutt said that if given the choice of fighting anybody from any MMA organization, Shevchenko would be at the top of her list.

“You know, who I think is one, not to say like, I could take her anything, but just out of a total respect level and I think that she's probably one of the best MMA athletes ever, is Valentina Shevchenko. She's so incredibly well rounded. I love watching her fights.

“Before she was even really doing MMA, I was watching her. And the transition from Legacy to the UFC has just been phenomenal. I'm more of like, in awe with her and her skill set. So she's somebody that like, I highly respect and look up to as an athlete.”

Colbey Northcutt spoke highly of Shevchenko and believes there are few holes to exploit in her game, if any at all.

“A lot of champions are very good, a lot of athletes are very good in one area. She's incredibly well rounded in every area. Where she really does not have a lot of weaknesses, a lot of holes in her game period.”

While Colbey Northcutt believes that she would need to watch out for “everything” in their hypothetical matchup, the American believes she would have clear advantages she could use to take the victory.

“I do obviously have the size and reach advantage and then I obviously have the height advantage too. So I have a little bit of reach in my striking and I just try to have to avoid her clinch, which is phenomenal. Then she's obviously very good on the ground too. So I mean, I think my strategy would be to stay really long. Stay at the end of my punches, not let her get on the inside and grab me in a way and avoid her kicks.”

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Colbey Northcutt’s martial arts pedigree

While Colbey Northcutt’s professional record stands at 2-1, she is an accomplished combat sports athlete who started learning martial arts at seven years old.

Together with her family, Colbey Northcutt traveled the world to compete with the best young martial artists around the world. She has since become a 36-time Karate World Champion and was inducted into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame.

She transitioned to professional MMA in 2017. While she was unsuccessful in her debut, she certainly made up for it in a big way once she joined ONE Championship in 2019.

Colbey Northcutt burst onto the scene by dominating her first two opponents, most recently forcing Australia’s Courtney Martin to tap to an armbar at ONE on TNT IV last April.