UFC 322 will feature Valentina Shevchenko’s thirteenth straight title fight.
Shevchenko has cemented herself because the unrivaled biggest of all time within the UFC at 125 kilos and stands alongside Amanda Nunes as a number one figure in the general women’s GOAT debate.
The Kyrgyzstani star’s drop to flyweight in 2018 set the stage for her rise, as she went on to enjoy a five-year reign that included seven successful defenses. Shevchenko’s shocking defeat to Alexa Grasso only temporarily removed her from the throne, as ‘Bullet’ won it back in 2024 and has already gotten past one challenge in her second rule.
Shevchenko’s next threat is Zhang Weili, a former two-time strawweight queen who’s moving as much as challenge for the flyweight title at UFC 322.
As she gears as much as enter the Octagon for the nineteenth time on the age of 37, Shevchenko doesn’t yet look to have lost a single step — something she said is not any lucky end result.
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Valentina Shevchenko names the important thing to long-term success within the UFC
Shevchenko’s most up-to-date fight was at UFC 315 this past May in Montreal, where she became the primary woman within the promotion to defeat Manon Fiorot.
Days after outpointing the Frenchwoman in defense of her flyweight title, ‘Bullet’ explained to DAZN how she is in a position to proceed fighting at such a high level this deep into her profession.
“To achieve success and to maintain your champion’s journey, you’ve to focus more in your inner spirit — in your training, proper recovery, proper lifestyle — since it’s very vital,” Shevchenko said.
“Me, being in martial arts for greater than 30 years, actively competing all this time, it means loads, because you can not have an prolonged fighter’s life with out a superb balance between training, rest, recovery, proper nutrition, and all the things.
“To maintain your body and mind young, you actually must work on it,” she continued. “That’s why I take all the things very seriously — not only to get something, but to do all the things possible to maintain doing what I like probably the most and compete so long as I can.”
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Amanda Nunes comeback could reignite Valentina Shevchenko’s double-champ ambitions
In spite of everything she has achieved across a decade within the UFC, Shevchenko is way from finished.
Not only does she have her sights set on one other flyweight title defense and on spoiling Zhang Weili’s two-division aspirations at UFC 322, but ‘Bullet’ could also still pursue a second belt herself.
Shevchenko’s bantamweight championship ambitions could return in 2026 should her former two-time opponent Amanda Nunes commit to a return and win back the division’s throne.
“For a very long time, (Nunes) was the one reason why I’d return to 135 (kilos),” Shevchenko told MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn.
“It was only one name, unfinished business what I had with Amanda. When she retired, I lost interest for that.
“Now, let’s see,” she continued. “The rumor is that she’s un-retired, but let’s see if it’s a reality.”