Valentina Shevchenko is willing to take on more movie roles — especially if Halle Berry is involved.
The UFC women’s flyweight champion made her Hollywood debut in the recently-released MMA film “Bruised” which airs on Netflix. It was directed by and stars Berry who plays Jackie Justice, a former UFC fighter looking to return to the top.
Shevchenko plays “Lady Killer” who is the villain of the movie as her and Berry’s characters collide in the final act at an Invicta event.
It was a great experience for Shevchenko not only because she got to broaden her horizons by acting, but also act alongside Berry who is one of her close friends.
But despite being arguably the most technical women’s fighter in the sport, it wasn’t smooth sailing by any means for Shevchenko during the filming process.
“It was an amazing experience,” Shevchenko told MMA Junkie. “Through the whole process, I had so much positive energy surrounding me. Working with Halle, with the whole team, it was one of my best experiences ever. And I really enjoyed the whole process.
“We were preparing for the filming two months ahead. We had training – hard training – for five hours every day before we actually started to film the fight scene. I would say it was my longest five rounds ever because it was not like five rounds, five minutes, total 25 (minutes). It was five rounds lasted for five days.”
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Shevchenko: I Definitely Want To Do It In The Future
That said, Shevchenko enjoyed the experience as a whole and is more than open to more film roles in the future.
“I enjoyed it with all my heart, and I definitely want to do it in the future,” Shevchenko added. “And definitely, I know Halle is going to have a lot of success as a director, and I am on her team, on her cast team, always and forever.”
For now, though, her attention will be back to her title reign, having last competed in September when she TKO’d Lauren Murphy at UFC 266. It was her sixth title defense while she is 7-0 overall since moving down to the 125-pound division.
Whether her next fight is another flyweight title defense or a trilogy with Amanda Nunes remains to be seen.
