Former Title Contender Believes She Deserves Shevchenko Fight
Valentina Shevchenko would be fighting against a different opponent if it was up to one former title contender.
That person who thinks this is Liz Carmouche as she thinks that she should be fighting for the vacant UFC women’s flyweight title. The UFC has already announced that Shevchenko would fight Joanna Jedrzejczyk with the title being on the line at UFC 231.
If you recall, this fight got scrapped once the UFC needed a main event for UFC 230 a few weeks ago. Thus, they booked a title fight between Shevchenko and Sijara Eubanks at the show. However, once they got Daniel Cormier vs. Derrick Lewis for the UFC heavyweight title to serve as the UFC 230 headliner, they went back to their original fight. This bout was Shevchenko vs. Jedrzejczyk.
Carmouche went on record by stating in a recent interview that she deserves the fight with Shevchenko. The reason for her belief is due to her having a stoppage victory over Shevchenko.
“I’m the only one who has ever finished her in MMA,” Carmouche told MMA Fighting. “Not in Muay Thai or kickboxing. I’m talking MMA. So, that would just, you think that would make sense for me to be the one to compete against her.”
Their fight went back on a small show in Oklahoma back in 2010 where Carmouche defeated Shevchenko via doctor stoppage TKO. Although she wants the fight, she understands why the fight was booked between the rivals.
“When I heard it, I was bummed,” Carmouche said. “I understand you always want drama leading up to the fight. You want whatever publicity you can get for it. It’s more appealing for fans, for media for everything. So I understand why everyone wants that.”
The UFC 231 pay-per-view is set to take place on Saturday, December 8, 2018 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.
