Valentina
Shevchenko’s coach has shed light on the injury that prompted
her to vacate the
Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s flyweight title.
Shevchenko was rumored to defend the title against Natalia
Silva at UFC
332 on Oct. 3, but an undisclosed injury forced her out. The
UFC subsequently announced that Shevchenko would relinquish the
belt, with Silva and Cong Wang now
set to fight for the vacant championship in Salt Lake City.
Valentina Shevchenko suffered shoulder and back ligament
injuries before vacating her UFC title
Ushatayka’s
Telegram channel revealed what Pavel Fedotov, Shevchenko’s
coach, said about her injury.
“We were supposed to fight on Oct. 3 against Natalia Silva, but due
to an injury to the ligaments in the shoulder and back, we decided
not to push things and postpone the fight,” Fedotov said. “Given
that the recovery will take a long time, we’ve made the decision to
temporarily vacate the belt and once she recovers, she will fight
for it again.”
Shevchenko hasn’t competed since defending her title against
Weili
Zhang in November 2025.