Valentina Shevchenko’s legacy continues to increase.
The UFC women’s flyweight champion is within the midst of her second reign on the 125-pound throne, having regained the belt from Alexa Grasso in 2024.
After getting the higher of Manon Fiorot handy the Frenchwoman her first loss within the Octagon this past May, Shevchenko will next face a challenge from below.
Within the co-main event of this Saturday’s UFC 322 pay-per-view, Shevchenko will fight Zhang Weili, a former two-time strawweight queen who’s moving up in pursuit of two-division glory.
Like ‘Bullet’, the Chinese star is considered considered one of the all-time greats. With that in mind, some consider a victory over Weili would go a giant way toward Shevchenko rivaling the consensus female GOAT.
- THROWBACK: UFC 1 star was outweighed by 200 kilos against sumo behemoth whose teeth he kicked into the gang
Valentina Shevchenko won’t crown herself because the UFC’s biggest of all time
Most regard Amanda Nunes as the best women’s fighter in UFC history. The Brazilian is the one female to realize double champion status within the promotion and has two wins over Shevchenko on her record.
While some might even see a victory at UFC 322 moving the flyweight queen near and possibly even past the ‘Lioness’, Shevchenko won’t be making that claim herself.
“I even have never been the person to say this about myself,” Shevchenko said in an interview with Stake. “I let the fans do the talking.
“My thing is to win the fight and be the very best. Win the fight and be higher than I used to be yesterday.
“When it comes to GWOAT talk, I’ll let the fans call me that,” she added.
- LATEST NEWS: Islam Makhachev downplays retirement talk as he names UFC legend’s feat he still plans to outdo
Valentina Shevchenko would return to bantamweight for an Amanda Nunes trilogy
Shevchenko could also further enhance her possibilities of being seen by fans because the GWOAT should she get her longtime want to run it back with the ‘Lioness’.
Current bantamweight queen Kayla Harrison plans to ‘whoop’ Nunes before targeting Shevchenko on the White House in 2026.
‘Bullet’, nonetheless, responded by suggesting that the Brazilian legend stays the only real point of intrigue for her regarding a return to 135 kilos.
“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.”