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As many fans expected, Valentina Shevchenko is still the UFC flyweight champion. 'The Bullet' outpointed top contender Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 last night to retain her crown.
Now well into her second reign with the 125-pound title, who should be next in line to face Valentina Shevchenko?
Outside of her trilogy with Alexa Grasso, the native of Kyrgyzstan has dominated every opponent she's faced in the octagon at flyweight. So are there any possible challengers left?
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Thankfully, the answer is yes, meaning Shevchenko still has some challenges to face in the future.
Valentina Shevchenko next fight: Who's next for 'The Bullet'?
Valentina Shevchenko's win over Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 was the first successful defense of her second reign with the flyweight title. It was her eighth successful defense overall, making her one of the most dominant champions in UFC history.
The win came customarily for 'The Bullet', as she appeared to smash Fiorot's nose in the first round, and despite 'The Beast' landing a second-round takedown and almost as many significant strikes, Shevchenko was always one step ahead.
Remarkably, Shevchenko's win saw her snap a 12-fight win streak for Fiorot, who hadn't lost since June 2018. Looking at the rankings, the most logical opponent for her next would probably be Natalia Silva.
The Brazilian outpointed Alexa Grasso impressively on last night's undercard, and can probably be expected to usurp her No.1 spot in the rankings when they're updated next week. Silva is riding a 13-fight win streak with seven of those wins in the octagon. Grasso was the second former UFC champion she's defeated, following a previous win over Jessica Andrade.
However, the Brazilian is not a big name, and unfortunately, nothing she's done to date would make even hardcore fans believe she would stand a chance against Shevchenko.
A bigger fight for 'The Bullet' could be one with current strawweight champ Weili Zhang, who stated a desire to become a double champion in February. 'Magnum' has held the 115-pound title twice and has beaten every other top strawweight on the roster.
Although No. 3-ranked flyweight Erin Blanchfield and No. 4-ranked Maycee Barber will face off at the end of this month, it feels like a straight shootout between Silva and Zhang for the next shot at Shevchenko.
'The Bullet' appeared to agree with that herself in last night's press conference, but also suggested that her fans could decide between the two.
Given that 'Magnum' is the bigger name, though, it feels like Valentina Shevchenko vs. Weili Zhang is the way to go.
