Valentina Shevchenko Proposes Fan Input to Determine Next Title Defense

After a hard-fought victory in the UFC 315 co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko wasn’t in a rush to think about her next title defense.

“Bullet” earned her 10th victory in a championship bout on Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, edging French contender Manon Fiorot via unanimous decision to maintain her place atop the flyweight division. Shortly thereafter, reigning strawweight queen Weili Zhang entered the Shevchenko sweepstakes.

“Congratulations to the champion,” Zhang wrote on Instagram. “Everything has line up perfectly, it’s destiny.”

However, Shevchenko wasn’t so interested in immediate matchmaking at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

"It’s kind of for me after the fight you get the victory, the belt is with you, and you still have adrenaline running and everything like that, to answer the exact question, I would prefer to take it with one of two days when I will rest," Shevchenko said. "I don't say about the timing because it's very important to have proper recovery and go to the next training camp with full power.”

While Zhang presents an intriguing champ vs. champ matchup, Natalia Silva has emerged as a serious contender within the flyweight division. The Brazilian won her seventh straight UFC bout on Saturday, confounding ex-champ — and Shevchenko rival — Alexa Grasso for three rounds in a clear-cut decision win.

“Sometimes you doubt yourself, but I proved to people that I am here, and I am going to be a champion. And I’m going to be different champion,” Silva said in a backstage interview with the UFC. “They’re gonna see my legacy, and people are gonna know my story.

“I’m ready. I’m next. I’m prepared for this. Alexa just had a trilogy with the current champion right now. I just had a great fight against Alexa. It just shows people, that I’m ready, I’m prepared and I’m gonna go for that title.”

Shevchenko proposed an interesting option to determine her next challenger.

"Everyone was saying Weili or Natalia for No. 1 contender," Shevchenko said. "Maybe fans can play some role in that and if they can join my OnlyFans page and drop some messages on who they want to see me fight next. I think we'll compare and see who's next.”