Once again, Valentina
Shevchenko will enter her latest title defense as a
considerable favorite.
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Shevchenko, who has long been regarded as one of the top female
pound-for-pound talents in the sport, will defend the 125-pound
belt against Taila
Santos in the UFC 275 co-main event at Singapore Indoor Stadium
in Kallang, Singapore, on Saturday night. “Bullet” has authored six
consecutive title defenses — all in dominant fashion — but Santos
stated that she has found some holes in the champion’s game leading
up to their clash.
Shevchenko has heard it all before.
“I think it’s kind of hypnotizing herself, trying to convince there
is something there should be,” Shevchenko told reporters at UFC 275
media day (video via MMAjunkie.com).
“Like everyone is not perfect. Definitely not everyone is perfect,
but all my opponents, they were saying the same – the same over and
over.
“It’s like, ‘No one is unbeatable. She has some holes in her game.’
But once they step inside the Octagon, they feel the opposite side.
They feel the difference between the fighters and this is the most
important. She’s trying to hypnotize herself to convince that there
should be, but she’s wrong. It’s not gonna work for her.”
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The 28-year-old Santos has won 19 of her
20 professional bouts and is currently on a four-fight winning
streak in UFC competition. Recent triumphs over veterans Joanne Wood
and Roxanne
Modafferi solidified the Astra Fight Team product as the
division’s No. 1 contender. While Santos was a noted finisher on
the regional circuit, all but one of her triumphs in the Octagon
have gone the distance, a submission of Wood at UFC Fight Night
198.
“It’s the level of competition,” Shevchenko said. “We are speaking
of the best league in the world. Here you cannot find easy
opponents, easy matchups. There is no weak fighters — (just) best
of the best in the world.”
As she prepares to square off against Santos, Shevchenko is happy
to share a fight card with former rival Joanna
Jedrzejczyk. The two were familiar foes in muay Thai, and
Shevchenko bested the Polish standout at UFC 231 to claim the
promotion’s inaugural female flyweight crown. Jedrzejczyk will face
Weili
Zhang in a rematch of a memorable 2020 bout on the UFC 275 main
card.
“I know Joanna through the years. We share our history through muay
Thai. It’s kind of like mutual respect,” Shevchenko said. “I
respect her as a fighter, hard worker and everything she’s doing.
It’s great to fight on the same card, but not as opponents. It’s a
good feeling. When you see a good fighter and you respect this
fighter, it’s great to see these kind of fighters on the card.”
If Shevchenko defeats Santos, talk will once again turn to “Bullet”
moving up a division. Shevchenko owns a victory over current
135-pound queen Julianna
Pena and was narrowly defeated by Amanda
Nunes in a title tilt at UFC 215. The latter was the last time
Shevchenko tasted defeat. Pena and Nunes are expected to square off
in a rematch at UFC 277 on July 30.
“No matter what outcome is gonna be in their fight in July, either
works for me because it’ll be an interesting fight against Amanda
and we have history with Julianna because a few years ago, I
submitted her,” Shevchenko said. “Either option is gonna work for
me.”