Valentina Shevchenko turns to X-rated website to assist choose her subsequent UFC opponent
UFC ULTIMATE INSIDER COLUMN: ‘The Bullet’ cements her place among the Octagon’s greatest fighters after successfully defending her flyweight title at UFC 315 and calls on fans to help decide what’s next
On the back of joining an elite group of fighters to have won 10 UFC title bouts, Valentina Shevchenko is closing in on 10 years in the company, while fans who see her as a perfect 10 can also help decide her next fight.
‘The Bullet’ has been the flyweight division’s champion/figurehead for so long that she has seen off one generation and began the task of lapping the next in defeating Manon Fiorot, who had been on a 12-fight winning streak, at UFC 315 in Montreal, Canada, last weekend.
Victory, with all three judges scoring the contest 48-47 after five tough rounds, put her among Octagon greats like Jon Jones, George St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Amanda Nunes as fighters to have won 10 or more championship clashes.
A champ v champ showdown with dominant strawweight title holder Zhang Weili looks next, with the Chinese star posting: “Congratulations to the champion. Everything has lined up perfectly, it’s destiny.”
However, having seen it all before, the Kyrgyzstan star turned over her next move to her online supporters, saying: “Everyone was saying, ‘Will it be Weili or Natalia (Silva) next?’ I don’t know.
“I just want to maybe let the fans play some role in that. They can join my OnlyFans page and drop some messages on there as to who they want to see me fight. Then we will compare who’s next.”
Despite having her first MMA fight in 2003, joining the UFC in 2015, 37-year-old Shevchenko remains as motivated as ever to continue to step inside the cage, with her “love” for the sport driving her to greatness, rather than the accolades or fortunes that come with success.
Shevchenko, who was returning to the octagon for the first time since regaining the flyweight title from Alexa Grasso last September, added: “I feel when you love something, you love what you do, you don’t need extra motivation.
“You don’t have to have extra motivation in terms of money, in terms of number of wins, belts or something like that.
“You just do what you love and you are trying to be the best at what you are doing. I started to do martial arts when I was five. Now, after 32 years, I just keep doing what I started back then.
“I am surrounded by amazing people who help me all the time – my family, my coach and friends.
“I feel like all this together, this combination, is already motivation and when you feel this joy and you have these people in your life that bring joy, it’s kind of like the best feeling ever that anyone can have.
“I am still going. I am not stopping. It is just the beginning.”
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