Valentina Shevchenko snaps back at Amanda Nunes after ‘The Lioness’ squashes trilogy talk: ‘She’s not a good person’
Valentina Shevchenko still plans on completing her trilogy with reigning two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes, even if ‘The Lioness’ has seemingly moved on.
Nunes will be back in action on Saturday night as the promotion returns to the Great White North for UFC 289, headlined by a women’s bantamweight world title fight between Nunes and No. 5 ranked contender Irena Aldana. Should Nunes leave Vancouver with her 135-pound crown intact, ‘The Lioness’ will likely find herself once again on a collision course with division rival Julianna Pena, but a third meeting with Shevchenko seems inevitable to everyone. Everyone, except Nunes.
Appearing at the UFC 289 media event on Wednesday, Nunes suggested that a third fight with Valentina Shevchenko “don’t sell nothing” and further disrespected the former flyweight world champion, believing the ‘holes in her game‘ directly led to her submission loss against Alexa Grasso in March. ‘Bullet’ didn’t take kindly to Nunes’ comments and snapped back at the general consensus women’s MMA GOAT.
“I think this fight is still going to happen,” Shevchenko told CBS Sports. “The number one step is taking my belt back.
“I can definitely say the same thing about her fight with Julianna Pena. I feel like she’s trying to put everyone down and take away the respect they deserve. I feel it’s not good. Being a professional, being a martial artist, you have to give credit to everyone. Seeing things like this just shows what kind of person she is. She’s not a good person it looks like.”
Valentina Shevchenko is Determined to Take Her Belt Back in Alexa Grasso Rematch
In December 2021, Julianna Pena shocked the world when she practically walked through Amanda Nunes at UFC 269, submitting ‘The Lioness’ in the second round to capture her first UFC title. The ‘Venezuelan Vixen’ handed the strap back to Nunes seven months later, suffering a dominant five-round unanimous decision defeat. With the fighters sitting at 1-1, a trilogy fight always felt inevitable though it wasn’t one fans were clamoring for.
Experiencing her own shocking upset inside the Octagon this year, Valentina Shevchenko believes being a champion for so long makes one feel complacent and at times, practically invincible. But now that she has been brought back down to earth, she’s ready to get back to what made her a world champion in the first place, just as Nunes did in her rematch with Pena.
“Being the champion for a long time, you get used to it,” Shevchenko said. “Everyone is saying you’re the greatest and you’re the best. You take it even if you don’t want to listen. Your brain takes it. Now it’s back to the roots. Back to how you started. To be fierce and angry like you were at the beginning. They can study me all day long. All year long. They will actually take nothing from that. Yes, she can repeat a sequence and take a chance opportunity, but I won’t give her any chances in our next fight.”
A rematch between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso is expected to go down before 2023 comes to a close, but no official date or location has been announced.
Despite Amanda Nunes already holding two victories over Valentina Shevchenko, do you want to see them complete their trilogy?
