"I don't even consider their opinions and their voices" - Valentina Shevchenko blasts Casey O'Neill and Maycee Barber for trash-talking from the sidelines

Valentina Shevchenko seems to be blocking out the noise being made by fellow flyweight contenders Casey O'Neill and Maycee Barber.

Whilst being interviewed by Ariel Helwani, he mentioned that according to O'Neill and Barber, the 'blueprint' on how to beat Shevchenko has been laid. Shevchenko dismissed the claims and said that since these two fighters are injured, it would be best if they kept quiet. The 'Bullet' said:

"Of course they have to say something because, for example, Maycee just came back from her injury. And Casey, she shouldn't have much to do say, because she is injured and recovering."

Watch the interview below:

The two flyweight contenders, alongside Meisha Tate, have spoken about how the path to victory seems clear against the Kyrgyz champ.

Their newfound confidence stems from the performance Talia Santos was able to produce during Shevchenko's recent title defense. Santos used her grappling effectively against Shevchenko, and the remaining flyweights feel that a hole in the champion's game has been revealed.

While Valentina Shevchenko is one of the most well-rounded mixed martial artists, the size difference in her fight with Santos was a factor that contributed to the challenger's success on the ground. Valentina said:

"Maybe the factor that in Singapore we had almost two days between weigh-in and fight day. And this is a good opportunity for the opponent to gain extra weight."

Shevchenko did not cut a lot of weight to make the 125-pound limit. She admitted that she only weighed 132 pounds, with clothes on, on fight night.

The size factor may not play as much of a role if Shevchenko ever does face O'Neill or Barber. Either way, Shevchenko seems to be able to block out the noise and focus on the goal.

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Who will Valentina Shevchenko face next?

Julianna Pena is set to square off against Amanda Nunes in her first title defense at UFC 277. With the landscape at flyweight looking somewhat barren for Valentina Shevchenko right now, she could look to move up a weight division.

A trilogy fight with Nunes could be exactly what Shevchenko is looking for. The flyweight champion feels as though she should have had her hand raised in the second contest between the pair. So the possibility of getting one back over 'The Lioness' is a mouth-watering prospect for Shevchenko.

A convincing performance by Lauren Murphy over Miesha Tate this past weekend will also be fresh in Shevchenko's mind. She could choose to stay at Flyweight and defend her belt against Murphy.