Henry Cejudo is going with Valentina Shevchenko in a potential trilogy fight with Amanda Nunes.
Nunes is currently 2-0 over Shevchenko in their women’s bantamweight matchups. However, the second fight in 2017 — which was for the title — was very closely-contested with many believing Shevchenko should have won.
Since then, the pair have been in different divisions with Shevchenko ruling the flyweight weight class with virtually zero competition barring her most recent outing against Taila Santos.
Nunes most recently regained the 135-pound strap after a dominant unanimous decision victory over Julianna Pena in their rematch this past weekend at UFC 277.
And calls for a trilogy fight have only intensified since.
Should it happen in the near future, Cejudo believes “Bullet” will come out on top this time.
“For the third fight, I’m actually gonna go Valentina Shevchenko just for the simple fact that Valentina has gotten a lot better and she’s the younger fighter, I believe, and she’s a smaller fighter,” Cejudo said on his show with The Schmo. “Going up is actually better than coming down. Because if you’re struggling to make 135 pounds, going up she’s going to feel really good. Those are my two cents on Valentina vs. Amanda Nunes 3.
“… Knowing Valentina, she’s all about fighting, she’s on a quest to do some amazing things. I don’t think she’s married or in a relationship, she’s literally married to the game and that also makes somebody extremely dangerous. Amanda now has a kid, a wife, and I’m not saying that stuff holds you down but time is given.”
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Amanda Nunes Decides P4P Queen
Of course, there have been calls to make the trilogy for a couple of years now.
However, Cejudo believes it’s now or never, especially with both fighters being 34.
He also believes the winner will determine who the pound-for-pound best female fighter truly is.
“I think this is the time to make it because they’re both kind of getting up there in age, too. So, if they’re going to make it, I say they make it within the next six months and let the people know who is the pound-for-pound queen.”
You can watch the full segment below:
