After two failed attempts to procure Ultimate Fighting Championship gold as a bantamweight, Valentina Shevchenko reassessed her position and downshifted to pounds. The decision could soon pay off in spades.
The fate of the vacant flyweight championship will hang in the balance when Shevchenko toes the line against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the UFC co-main event on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The Kyrgyzstani kickboxer has compiled a record since joining the UFC roster in , and she has done so against largely stellar competition. As Shevchenko approaches her hotly anticipated battle with Jedrzejczyk, here are five things you should know about her:.
Shevchenko holds the Master of Sport designation in five different disciplines: Muay Thai, boxing, kickboxing, taekwondo, and judo.
A seasoned mixed martial arts veteran whose handlers wasted no time shuttling her into high-level competition, Shevchenko made her professional debut as a year-old on April 21, Shevchenko has fought in 12 different countries over the course of her career as a boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Though known for her standup prowess, Shevchenko has proven to be just as capable on the ground. She has delivered seven of her 15 victories by submission: four by rear-naked choke, two by armbar and one by Ezekiel choke.
Shevchenko punches Priscila Cachoeira. Shevchenko has been outstruck in four of her six UFC appearances, according to FightMetric data: against Kaufman, against Nunes, against Pena and against Nunes in their rematch. However, she did outperform Holm by a wide margin in the UFC on Fox 20 main event in July , and she was even more overwhelming against Cachoeira, outlanding the Parana Vale Tudo rep by a staggering count.
