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Valentina Shevchenko has revealed how she will go about with preparations in case she has to put on weight and move up to the bantamweight division to complete the trilogy with arch-rival Amanda Nunes.
Shevchenko and Nunes have fought twice in the UFC so far. 'Lioness' first beat 'Bullet' via unanimous decision at UFC 196 in March 2016. The Brazilian also won the rematch at UFC 215 via split decision 18 months later.
Speaking to UFC commentator and stand-up comedian Joe Rogan on his podcast, women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko insisted that she won't return to the 135-pound division by building lots of extra muscles using heavy weight exercises.
"I'm not gonna do anything special to lift up my weight because I don't believe it's gonna help. I believe it's gonna be worse for the fighter because if in your whole life you were like a certain body type, you know how to carry certain amounts of muscles. And then suddenly for the last two three months you start to carry way more. So what's gonna happen? You're gonna be slower. You're not gonna have same resistance for the whole fight. So I will do the same. I just want to do the last day weight cut like what I do for 125 (pounds). I will just eat normally as I do and train the same way as I do," said Shevchenko.
Watch Valentina Shevchenko speak on the Joe Rogan Experience below:
Amanda Nunes is currently scheduled to defend her bantamweight belt against Julianna Pena at UFC 269 on December 11. Meanwhile, she also holds the UFC women's featherweight championship right now.
Valentina Shevchenko defended her women's flyweight belt against Lauren Murphy at UFC 266 last month
UFC women's flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko defeated Lauren Murphy via TKO to complete her sixth successful title defense inside the octagon.
The victory made her the champion with the most consecutive defenses currently in a single UFC division with six. She is ahead of Amanda Nunes (five in the women's bantamweight class), welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman (four), and middleweight champ Israel Adesanya (three).
Valentina Shevchenko's next opponent has not been decided yet. Hence, a third fight with Nunes next year looks pretty possible.
