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Valentina Shevchenko has revealed why she isn’t interested in returning to the sport of boxing.
The UFC women’s flyweight champion asserted that although she has competed as a professional boxer in the past, going back to that sport would be a bit of a “downgrade” from MMA.
‘Bullet’ appeared on an edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani and discussed the possibility of crossing over from MMA to boxing. Helwani noted that of late, several MMA fighters have been trying their hand at boxing to compete in crossover fights. He pointed out that one such example is MMA legend Anderson Silva, who’s achieving significant success in the boxing realm.
The journalist highlighted that although we’re not seeing many female fighters going from MMA to boxing, Valentina Shevchenko could be one who’d succeed in the squared circle. Shevchenko responded by saying:
“I don’t see a reason why I have to do it. I have like, 12 professional boxing fights. And I did it. I know exactly what it feels. And it’s kind of like, it’s, for me, being UFC champion, fighting in a mixed martial arts universal style when the technique is everything, it’s like you actually know all kind of martial arts. You are like, perfect boxer; you are perfect Muay Thai fighter, Taekwondist. You are perfect grappler, wrestler; you are everything in martial arts. It’s kind of like going to boxing, it’s kind of like – You can, why not? But for me, it’s a little bit downgrade.”
Watch Valentina Shevchenko's interview on the MMA Hour below:
Valentina Shevchenko defends her UFC women’s flyweight title at UFC 266
According to Boxrec, Valentina Shevchenko has competed in two professional boxing matches. The belief is that Shevchenko – who noted that she has 12 pro boxing bouts on her resume – likely competed in amateur/exhibition bouts, apart from the pair of aforementioned pro bouts.
Regardless, Valentina Shevchenko indeed possesses experience in the professional boxing sphere, as indicated by her Boxrec records. Furthermore, Bullet has also extensively competed in the sports of Muay Thai and kickboxing.
Presently, Valentina Shevchenko is set to defend her UFC women’s flyweight title against Lauren Murphy in the co-headlining matchup of UFC 266. The event will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 25.
