Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade Set For UFC 261

Valentina Shevchenko is set to defend her title against Jessica Andrade next.

The pair will meet in a women’s flyweight title fight at the UFC 261 pay-per-view event taking place April 24 as per Dana White (via ESPN). No location has been confirmed as of yet but it will likely take place in either Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi.

Shevchenko will be eyeing a fifth successful title defense as she continues to rule over the 125-pound division with no equal.

“Bullet” is coming off a unanimous decision win over Jennifer Maia in November which followed dominant wins over the likes of Katlyn Chookagian, Liz Carmouche and Jessica Eye.

Andrade, meanwhile, enjoyed a successful flyweight debut following a first-round TKO win over Chookagian in October last year. She had previously suffered two consecutive defeats at 115 pounds, including a first-round TKO defeat to Weili Zhang to lose her strawweight title.

However, having moved up a division, Andrade now has a chance to become a two-division champion and is viewed by many as the biggest test for Shevchenko yet in the flyweight division.

“If you’re going to go out and be safe against somebody like Jennifer, what are you going to do against Andrade?” White said of the fight in November. “Andrade is going to bring her a lot of things she’s never seen before, not to mention the power Andrade has.

“She just knocked the No. 2 girl [Chookagian] in the world with a body shot. She’s a real problem for Shevchenko that [Shevchenko is] going to have to figure out, and if she does, I think the fight that makes more sense is, [Weili] Zhang will fight here soon, and after Weili fights, maybe you do those two.”

Who do you have winning this fight?