Valentina Shevchenko added another win to her growing legacy with a commanding performance over Zhang Weili at UFC 322 in New York City. The victory marked her ninth defense of the flyweight title, the most in UFC women’s history, and cemented her spot as one of the top fighters pound-for-pound.
After the fight, Shevchenko shared insights into her preparation and discussed her potential next steps, including a move up to bantamweight or facing top contenders in her current division.
Post-Fight Reflections
Shevchenko described her training camp and the intensity of the fight:
“I was preparing for a war. I even took all my anti-inflammatory pills with me because I didn’t know how I was going to walk out of the octagon. But I feel that as a training camp, and all training that I did in preparation for this fight, it was so hard that it helped me to have a less hard fight. But it was not something that I felt like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be easy.’”
She emphasized the significance of her preparation:
“The victory over someone like Weili, it means a lot. And it’s not only about the fight, but the preparation for the fight. It was one of the largest, longest, and hardest training camps I ever had. Especially, I felt this morning, I woke up and had the feeling that I just fought in Montreal, and now I have to do it again. It’s so back-to-back for me because training never stopped, and training camp never stopped. That’s why it’s very important. This victory is very important for me.”
🔥👑 The WMMA Queen.
🇰🇬 Valentina Shevchenko just shut down Zhang Weili at #UFC322.Lightning-fast striking, sharp clinch work, slick grappling… the flyweight queen reminded everyone why she’s still the P4P No.1 in the world. 💥 #WMMA #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/h8MsY9THMw
— Women’s MMA Rankings (@WMMARankings) November 16, 2025
Exploring a Move to Bantamweight
With her dominance at flyweight, Shevchenko has begun considering options in the bantamweight division. Potential opponents include Amanda Nunes, who is planning a return to the octagon, and Kayla Harrison, the Olympic judo gold medalist who has moved into MMA.
“I think it’s one of the possibilities, and I consider that,” Shevchenko said. “For now, I want to take care of injuries that I have, that have been kind of migrating from training camp to training camp with me. But after maybe a week or something like that, we will have our conversation with my team and my coach, and decide what’s next, because I feel there are good challengers in flyweight as well; Erin [Blanchfield], Natalia [Silva], and bantamweight, now we have Amanda [Nunes] or Kayla [Harrison].”
Shevchenko addressed the potential trilogy matchup with Amanda Nunes:
“I would say probably fans would love to see Amanda trilogy because it was unfinished business, but in the same time, it’s unclear yet, is she return or not return? Is she fighting or not fighting? And also, it’s unknown in what shape she’s going to return. Like, half Amanda or maybe full Amanda? Who knows?”
She added that Kayla Harrison also represents a significant challenge:
“But Kayla is also one of the possibilities, and it’s going to be another super challenge.” via MMAFighting
Valentina Shevchenko remains focused on continuing her reign as flyweight champion while exploring the opportunity to capture a second title at bantamweight. Whether she chooses to defend her current belt or pursue a high-profile fight at 135 pounds, her path is aimed at cementing her legacy as one of the greatest female fighters in UFC history.
Following UFC 322, Amanda Nunes has revealed her intention to move down to 125 pounds to compete for Valentina Shevchenko’s flyweight belt.
In their past encounters, Nunes had emerged victorious both times, defeating Shevchenko by unanimous decision in 2016 and by split decision in 2017, cementing her early dominance over the Peruvian fighter.
