Valentina Shevchenko is without a doubt one of the greatest female fighters in the history of mixed martial arts.
She may no longer sit at the top of the women's flyweight division, but 'Barrett' is by far the greatest fighter the 125-pound division has ever seen. Shevchenko, who has defended the belt seven times, setting her own record, recently posed with all seven titles on social media. Each represents one of her symbolic defenses.
The visual was reminiscent of Demetrius Johnson's iconic photo with his UFC Gold Collection.
“7 title defenses, 7 amazing events with the best #UFC MMA fighters in the world,” Shevchenko wrote on Instagram. “Thank you @ufc, now I can keep all my belts!!!”
Making her promotional debut in 2015, Valentina Shevchenko climbed the bantamweight ladder before making the jump to flyweight and competing in nine fights, including a title-winning performance against 2024 UFC Hall of Famer Joanna Jedrzejczyk. He achieved consecutive wins.
She will defend her title against the likes of Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Katrin Chokajian, Jennifer Maia, Jessica Andrade, Lauren Murphy and Tyra Santos.
Along the way, she carved her name into history by achieving numerous records, including the most titles won, most consecutive title defenses, most takedowns, most control times, and most total strikes in women's flyweight history. . She was also named 2022 Female Fighter of the Year at the World MMA Awards.
Valentina Shevchenko aims to regain title
Valentina Shevchenko's record in the top 125 came to an end on March 4, 2023, with a shocking four-round submission loss at the hands of Guadalajara native Alexa Grasso. Six months later, “Bullet” fell short of regaining the title at the UFC's Mexican Independence Day Celebration, fighting Grasso for five rounds before the bout ended in a split draw.
The female athletes are scheduled to compete in the tournament for the third time after that, but first they will compete seriously as coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 32.''
Until then, check out highlights from Valentina Shevchenko's iconic flyweight title reign below.
