Kayla Harrison’s Opponent No Stranger to Elite Competition: Martina Jindrova Recalls Fight with Valentina Shevchenko

Martina Jindrova is a couple of victories away from becoming the second Czech fighter to bring a major mixed martial arts championship home in the Czech Republic this year. Before that, Jindrova (6-2, 3-0 PFL) will have to overcome a tough challenge in two-time Olympic gold medalist and Professional Fighters League superstar Kayla Harrison. Even though her next assignment looks quite challenging, Jindrova is used to tough matchups. In her long combat sports career, Jindrova also faced current Ultimate Fighting Championship 125-pound titleholder Valentina Shevchenko in a 2011 muay Thai clash that went down in Thailand. On that occasion, “Bullet” was victorious, but Jindrova fought tooth and nail.

“I was training in Thailand. I spent there like maybe 11 months already in my life. I also fought in Thailand against Shevchenko in muay Thai. I think it was 2011, it's a long time ago. It was in muay Thai, five rounds by two minutes, and we were fighting for the belt. Finally, she won by points. In the third round, she broke my ribs with a spinning back kick, but I kicked her to the head very, very hard. For points, she won. So, but it was a great experience for me, and I wish her the best in the UFC.”

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(00:45) Her flight to the U.K.
(01:21) Preparing for Harrison
(02:30) Enjoying her PFL experience
(03:18) Wishing to face Harrison
(04:15) What she expects from Harrison
(04:53) Discussing Jiri Prochaska’s victory in the UFC
(06:35) Hoping the PFL to hold an event in the Czech Republic
(07:09) Preferring to fight in Europe and Asia
(07:44) Facing Valentina Shevchenko in a muay Thai clash
(08:44) Hoping to fight at 145 next year
(10:00) Outro