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'Bullet' Valentina Shevchenko has revealed the only thing that will make her return to the Bantamweight division is a chance to redeem her losses against the UFC Bantamweight Champion, Amanda Nunes.
Leading up to her upcoming UFC Flyweight title defense against Jessica Andrade at UFC 261, Valentina Shevchenko appeared in an interview with BT Sport. On being asked whether she would move up to the Bantamweight division again to possibly beat Amanda Nunes and further cement the legacy of her illustrious career, Shevchenko said -
"Yes. There is only one reason why I could move up [to the Bantamweight division]. It is the fight against Amanda (Nunes). And this is only why I see me going up. But, right now, I am very focused on Flyweight, because, going up a weight class, means you have to gain more weight. And it is hard to go up, and down again. Up, and down. So, I prefer to do everything in here, and then think about going somewhere higher."
How did the first two fights between Valentina Shevchenko and Amanda Nunes pan out?
Valentina Shevchenko and Amanda Nunes are two of the best female mixed martial artists the world has ever seen. They have both been extremely dominant over the course of their respective careers. It was no surprise that when these two greats finally clashed inside the Octagon, the whole world watched intently.
Both Nunes and Shevchenko exhibit great versatility on the canvas. They are both deadly strikers, with their ground games on-point.
Their first fight took place at UFC 196 in March 2016. The two went the distance of 3 rounds, with the level of competition amongst them setting the standard for fighters the world over. Amanda Nunes was able to gain a slight edge over Shevchenko both on the ground and in striking, winning the fight via unanimous decision.
The two met again at UFC 215 in Spetember, 2017. Amanda Nunes was on an extremely impressive streak at the time, having won the UFC Bantamweight title from Miesha Tate and defended it against Ronda Rousey. The rematch with Valentina Shevchenko became her second successful title defense.
But it was no walk in the park for the otherwise extremely dominant Nunes. Both fighters showed extreme determination and resilience as they fought for 25/25 minutes. The fight was even closer than their previous bout with Valentina Shevchenko giving 'The Lioness' a run for her money in all aspects of MMA, striking and grappling.
Yet Amanda Nunes bagged a split decision victory to remain the UFC Bantamweight champion, a title that she hasn't let go of to-date.
Valentina Shevchenko moved down to Flyweight and soon captured Flyweight gold by beating Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 in December 2018. She too has held her title ever since.
