Zhang Weili or Natália Silva? Valentina Shevchenko puts next title challenger to fan vote

Valentina Shevchenko wants fans to help determine who should receive the next UFC women's flyweight title shot. On Saturday night, Shevchenko defended her 125-pound title for the first time in her second reign.

'Bullet' battled Manon Fiorot for five rounds in the UFC 315 co-main event and emerged victorious by unanimous decision. Shevchenko was asked during the post-fight press conference about who her next opponent should be. The options provided were strawweight champion Zhang Weili and flyweight contender Natalia Silva (7-0 in UFC), who recently defeated Alexa Grasso at UFC 315.

Shevchenko said:

"Before coming to here, everyone was saying Weili or Natalia [Silva] as in a contender. So yeah, I don't know. Maybe fans can play some role in that. If they can like join my OnlyF*ns page and drop some messages on who they want to see me fight next. We will compare who's next."

Shevchenko had this to say when asked if a win against Weili would mean more for her legacy than beating Silva.

"Probably yes [a win against Weili would mean more to my legacy], considering all the title defenses that I already have in flyweight. For me now, after the fight, you got the victory, your belt is with you, you have still this adrenaline running."

She added:

"To answer the exact question, I would prefer to take it with one or two day when I feel rest. I don't mean about the timing because it's very important to have proper recovery and to get into the next training camp with full power. It's mostly about time-wise."

Check out Valentina Shevchenko's comments below:

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Zhang Weili says "it's destiny" for her to fight Valentina Shevchenko

Zhang Weili extended her reign as the UFC women's strawweight world champion with a unanimous decision win against Tatiana Suarez in February. She's since teased the possibility of moving up to flyweight to potentially become a two-division title holder.

The Chinese superstar reacted to Valentina Shevchenko's recent win at UFC 315 by calling her out on Instagram:

"Congratulations to the champion. Everything has lined up perfectly, it's destiny."

Check out Zhang Weili's comments below:

Shevchenko is the number one-ranked pound-for-pound female fighter in the UFC, while Weili is ranked two. The potential matchup between the world champion would be one of the most anticipated clashes of the year in the women's divisions.