Valentina
Shevchenko will defend her flyweight belt against former
115-pound champion Jessica
Andrade at UFC
261.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the bout to broadcast partner
ESPN on Wednesday. UFC 261 takes place on April 24 at an as yet
to be announced location. It is unclear if Shevchenko vs. Andrade
will serve as the evening’s main event.
A former bantamweight title challenger, Shevchenko has been
victorious in her last six Octagon appearances. “Bullet” captured
the 125-pound title with a five-round verdict over Joanna
Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 and has followed with four successful
defenses. Most recently, Shevchneko earned a lopsided unanimous
verdict against Jennifer
Maia at UFC 255. The 32-year-old’s only two defeats in 11 UFC
fights have come against two-division champion Amanda
Nunes.
Andrade made a successful 125-pound debut last October, when she
scored a first-round knockout of former title challenger Katlyn
Chookagian at UFC Fight Night 180. The 29-year-old Brazilian
has fought at three weight classes in the Las Vegas-based promotion
and owns notable wins over the likes of Rose
Namajunas, Claudia
Gadelha, Karolina
Kowalkiewicz, Joanne
Calderwood, Angela Hill
and Raquel
Pennington.