Valentina Shevchenko Snaps Back at ‘Offended Kid’ Sean Strickland Over ‘Women’s MMA is Lame’ Comment
We’re guessing a feud between Sean Strickland and Valentina Shevchenko wasn’t something anyone expected to see in 2023.
Yet here we are.
Still riding high from his dominant unanimous decision victory against Israel Adesanya to claim the UFC middleweight championship, Sean Strickland is preparing to defend the title for the first time in January when he meets the division’s No. 2 ranked contender, Dricus Du Plessis.
Recently, Strickland took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his take on a story surrounding former UFC standout Paige VanZant. ’12 Gauge’ has largely stepped away from a career in combat sports while making money hand over fist on social media and through subscription-based sites like OnlyFans. During an appearance on Barstool Sports’ Only Stans podcast, VanZant revealed that she had made more money in 24 hours on the site than she had during her entire career getting punched in the face.
“Paige Vanzant said she made more on only fans in 24 hours than she did in the UFC. Let’s unpack.. 1. You were signed because you’re hot. 2. Women’s mma is lame. 3. Men will pay more to see you naked than to watch you fight. Stay in school kids, fighting sucks lol,” Strickland wrote in response to the story.
Valentina Shevchenko Fires Back at Strickland
Taking exception to Strickland’s comments about women’s MMA, former flyweight world champion Valentina Shevchenko suggested that ‘Tarzan’ was just upset over making less money than his female counterparts.
“Interesting unpack here,” Shevchenko posted in response. “That looks more like an offended kid, who got less money in his entire fighter career than female fighters do! Good try, maybe UFC will see that and add some cash to your purse next time. But for now naked is you are.”
It didn’t take long for Sean Strickland to snap back at ‘Bullet’ online, poking fun at her loss to Alexa Grasso.
“Valentina you lost to a girl who pulls guard, you look like you learned striking from a YouTube video,” Strickland replied. “LMAO female MMA. It’s like watching children fight it’s fun but we all know it’s trash. You only have a job because you know when to put heels on and take off your clothes”
Valentina Shevchenko is widely considered to be one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the history of the sport. ‘Bulllet’ racked up seven straight title defenses following her win over Joanna Jędrzejczyk in 2018 to claim the flyweight championship. She holds victories over some of the biggest names in the weight class, including Liz Carmouche, Jessica Andrade, Taila Santos, and Lauren Murphy.
