Valentina Shevchenko not planning on retiring anytime soon, still feels like she’s improving
UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is not planning on retiring anytime soon, saying she still feels like she’s improving.
Shevchenko defeated Lauren Murphy via fourth-round TKO at UFC 266 in September for her eighth straight win at 125lbs, her seventh straight title fight victory, and her sixth successful title defense. It’s getting to the point where the UFC is starting to have difficulties finding new opponents for Shevchenko, and when that happens, often fighters lose their motivation. We have already heard UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes speak openly about retirement, and she’s the same age as Shevchenko. But as far as “Bullet” goes, she has no plans on hanging up her gloves anytime soon.
Speaking to MMA reporter James Lynch, Shevchenko revealed that she has no plans on retiring anytime soon. As far as Shevchenko goes, she is still improving and she still has many years left in the sport.
“As much as I can. As much as my body, my mental health says, ‘Valentina you can do it, go.’ As long as I have that feeling, I will do it. I will tell you, I haven’t lost a little bit of this feeling. Every year, I’m feeling stronger and stronger, more technical, more sharper, and more confident. I’m getting better every single day, every single year. This is the most important because I love the lifestyle of what I have,” Shevchenko said.
Following her win over Murphy, Shevchenko said she was “open to anyone” for her next fight. Given that she has cleaned out much of the flyweight division, a trilogy fight with Nunes seems to make sense. However, should she stick around the women’s flyweight division, there will likely be some new challengers that emerge for her should she continue to fight at 125lbs.
Who do you want to see Valentina Shevchenko fight next?
