Valentina Shevchenko fired back at Jake Paul after his latest shots at the UFC and some of MMA’s top fighters. After Paul criticized the promotion and complained about the sport’s wrestling-heavy style, Shevchenko told him to stop talking from a distance and try saying the same thing inside the cage.
Shevchenko responded on social media after Paul claimed the UFC was slipping and pointed to fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev while calling that style boring.
“UFC dying?! Hey Jake, you definitely don’t know what you are talking about. Criticizing MMA from a long distance.”
She followed with the harder line.
“Try to get into an octagon with one of them, they’ll wipe the floor with your pretty face. You will show spectacular, breathtaking fight from down there. Then you can tell us how fun or boring it was.”
Here is Shevchenko’s post below.
UFC dying ?!
Hey Jake, you definitely don't know what are you talking about.Criticizing MMA from a long distance 😏
Try to get into an octagon with one of them, and they'll wipe the floor with your pretty face.
You will show spectacular, breathtaking fight from down there!… pic.twitter.com/TBHfMspq67— Valentina The Bullet Shevchenko (@BulletValentina) April 8, 2026
Shevchenko last fought at UFC 322, where she outclassed Zhang Weili over five rounds to keep the flyweight title in her second reign. As for what comes next, the UFC has not announced her next defense yet, but the division is already moving and new contenders are still trying to strengthen their case.
Paul’s comments were not limited to the UFC as a company. He also went after the way elite MMA fighters win, especially wrestlers and pressure fighters. That same rant already stirred up noise after Paul blasted Dana White, called the UFC greedy, and said the promotion was dying.
Valentina Shevchenko pushed back on Jake Paul’s MMA talk
Paul has been around MMA for years without actually making the walk into a real fight. He signed with PFL in 2023, but never fought for the promotion, with his involvement staying on the business side. That gap is exactly what Shevchenko went after. Talking about MMA and dealing with elite MMA fighters are two very different things.
The timing also matters because Paul is trying to push deeper into the MMA space through Most Valuable Promotions, which is promoting an upcoming card featuring Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. So when he talks about the UFC product, he is speaking as a rival promoter and boxer trying to carve out space in the same market.
Shevchenko has already shown she will answer public takes she thinks deserve it. She recently went at Khabib Nurmagomedov over his comments on women in combat sports. Paul criticized the UFC and the way elite MMA fighters win. She answered by drawing a clear line between talking about MMA and stepping into the cage with people who do it at the highest level.
