Former UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko has spoken out about the retired Amanda Nunes and expressed hope that they will still be able to have a third fight.
Shevchenko said:
First of all, Amanda, she is amazing fighter. She did amazing things in the sport, and I feel that many people, they starting to judge her for retiring, but I wanna say no one has the right to judge a fighter, who did that much, right? And yes, definitely, I think our second fight she didn't win. I think I won that fight, many people think the same. If in the future she feels that she rested, I still plan to be around. So maybe we will still have this opportunity.
Recall, the first fight between Shevchenko and Nunes, which took place in March 2016 at the UFC 196 tournament, ended with the victory of Amanda by unanimous decision of judges. In September 2017 at UFC 215, Nunes won by split decision of the judges.
Valentina Shevchenko will have a rematch with reigning flyweight division champion Alexa Grasso at UFC Fight Night 227 on September 17.
Shevchenko and Grasso first met in March 2023 at UFC 285. That confrontation ended with Alexa winning by choking submission in the fourth round. 35-year-old Shevchenko has 23 wins and four losses on her record. Grasso, 30, has 16 wins and three losses.