Following her victory over Manon Fiorot at UFC 315, Valentina Shevchenko made it clear she doesn`t want to be the reason Fiorot ends her fighting career.
The idea of retirement came up during the build-up to their co-main event clash on Saturday, where Shevchenko ultimately won a competitive fight to defend her flyweight championship. Fiorot, aged 35, had suggested Shevchenko retire if she lost, and Shevchenko had countered that Fiorot should accept the same condition if she were defeated.
However, Shevchenko stated after the fight that she never intended the wager to be taken seriously and strongly urged Fiorot not to go through with retiring.
Speaking to reporters, Shevchenko elaborated, “To be very clear, before the fight Manon suggested that if she won, I retire. I responded, if I won, she retires. So I absolutely do not want her to retire. I really don`t want her to feel bound by those words, because I feel it`s unfair to a fighter if someone maybe put those words in her mouth for promotion or something, and now she feels obligated to retire? No, please don`t follow through on that, please keep fighting.”
Shevchenko, who turned 37 in March, likely wouldn`t have retired herself had she lost, but her winning performance means she can postpone that decision. “Bullet” successfully countered the aggressive style of the naturally larger Fiorot, securing scores of 48-47 from all judges after five rounds.
She attributed her preparation for Fiorot`s southpaw stance to training with her sister, Antonina, who recently retired from fighting.
She quoted her sister`s influence: “Throughout my career, one of my primary training partners has been my sister, and she`s a southpaw,” Shevchenko said. “Her kicks and punches are unique. The speed, power, and everything from working with her all these years means now, when Manon throws kicks, I can sort of see them coming from a long way off.”
With the win, Shevchenko is in a strong position as she looks towards her next title defense. Strawweight champion Zhang Weili has publicly shown interest in a potential cross-divisional superfight against Shevchenko.
Meanwhile, fellow flyweight contender Natalia Silva also strengthened her case for a title shot with a dominant victory over former champion Alexa Grasso on the same night, extending her UFC record to 7-0.
Shevchenko stated she doesn`t have a personal preference between Zhang Weili and Natalia Silva for her next opponent, suggesting the fans might help decide.
