Amanda
Nunes welcomes a third fight with Valentina
Shevchenko, even though she believes the flyweight champion
should have lost her last title defense.
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Shortly after Nunes regained the bantamweight crown with a dominant
five-round verdict over Julianna
Pena in the UFC 2777
headliner, Shevchenko took to Twitter to claim that her rival
copied some of her striking techniques. When those comments were
relayed to Nunes, the two-division champ had a quick retort.
Looks like Amanda decide to fully copy my
stand up game
Great fight both ladies!
#UFC277— Valentina Shevchenko (@BulletValentina)
July 31, 2022
“That’s funny,” Nunes said at the UFC 277 post-fight press
conference. “She has to put out there something to stand out,
because right now, as a champion, Valentina, she lost her last
fight. I really think if Taila doesn’t get that headbutt, that
fight could have been way different.”
Shevchenko is coming off a closely contested split-decision victory
against Santos at UFC 275 in a fight where her opponent’s vision
was hindered due to an accidental clash of heads. Shevchenko lost a
pair of decisions to Nunes at 135 pounds, but the close nature of
those matchups has led to intrigue regarding a trilogy between the
two fighters most regard as the top pound-for-pound female talents
in the sport.
Nunes, for her part, is open to the possibility.
“She’s a champion too,” Nunes said. “That would be awesome.”
UFC president Dana White, who recently dismissed the notion of a
Nunes-Shevchenko trilogy, seemed more receptive to the notion on
Saturday night.
“That’s not a bad idea,” White said. “Normally I would say, ‘Come
on, man.’ That’s not a bad idea really, when you think about it.
I’m not saying yes, I’m just saying it’s not a bad idea.”