Considering she’s the UFC longest reigning current champion, and in arguably the promotion’s weakest weight class, Valentina Shevchenko is not thin on options for her next fight.
In recent years, Shevchenko (23-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC), the current UFC women’s flyweight titleholder, has struggled to find opponents who garner the interest of the audience. She’s racked up eight title defenses and established herself as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters out there, but most of her fights have felt like formalities.
With 2023 just around the corner, however, Shevchenko is in position for arguably the most interesting year of her career, with a sizable list of possible fights on the horizon.
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie at the World MMA Awards, Shevchenko named Alexa Grasso and Manon Fiorot as a pair of fresh names at 125 pounds whom she has yet to share the octagon. Both are on winning streaks, and have a case to fight for the belt. There’s also Taila Santos, who gave Shevchenko the toughest reign of her career so far in a split decision defeat at UFC 275 in June, and could have claim to a rematch.
Additionally, a trilogy fight with women’s bantamweight titleholder Amanda Nunes is always lingering, and strawweight champ Zhang Weili has also recently expressed interest in moving up to challenge for Shevchenko’s belt.
So, who makes the most sense for “The Bullet” to fight against next? Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Nolan King, Farah Hannoun and Brian “Goze” Garcia answered that question and more with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above. And don’t miss this week’s full episode below.
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel.
