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Valentina Shevchenko was asked about the possibility of a third bout with Amanda Nunes at the post-fight press conference at UFC 266. In typical fashion, the 33-year-old said she will be up for it whenever the UFC decides to book the trilogy.
"I am open for it. I never was choosing my opponents. I'm not that person who goes 'Okay, this name looks good to me, I'll fight her,' or 'No, this name kind of does not look good, I'm not fighting her.' No, they have a name for me, I accept the fight, because I want to fight the best ones, the best ones in the world. This is how you prove that you're the best in the world. And if destiny wants to make it happen, I'm here. Right now, here," Valentina Shevchenko said about the trilogy.
Shevchenko defeated Lauren Murphy at UFC 266, successfully defending her flyweight belt for the sixth time.
Watch Valentina Shevchenko's full UFC 266 post-fight press conference below:
Valentina Shevchenko expressed similar sentiments about the fight in a TMZ Sports interview a week ago. 'Bullet' revealed that she was concentrating on her own division but would be ready to fight for her second title against 'Lioness' when the time came.
The flyweight queen told ESPN's Marc Raimondi that she is sure the trilogy fight will happen someday.
Dana White on Valentina Shevchenko vs. Amanda Nunes trilogy: "To do them again makes sense"
Dana White is also keen to make the trilogy fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Amanda Nunes happen.
In a pre-UFC 266 interview with TSN, the UFC president said that the greatness of the two fighters involved calls for a third installment, even though Amanda Nunes leads the score 2-0.
"The more hungry people get, the more they want to see it, the more it makes me want to make it. So if she [Valentina] wins and Amanda beats Peña and they're both into it, I'm interested in talking about it... There's no doubt that Nunes is the greatest female fighter of all time, I mean there's absolutely no doubt or question about it. There's no doubt that Valentina is also one of the greatest female fighters of all time, so to do them again makes sense. Nunes has two wins, usually when somebody has two on somebody you don't do it again. But that one's just so interesting."
Amanda Nunes is set to defend her bantamweight belt against Julianna Pena. The pair were originally scheduled to fight at last month's UFC 265, but the bout was postponed after Nunes tested positive for COVID-19. The scrap has been rebooked for December's UFC 269.
