Valentina Shevchenko defeated Manon Fiorot at UFC 315, but she stated clearly she does not wish to be the reason for Fiorot ending her career.
Retirement was part of the discussion leading up to Saturday`s co-main event, where Shevchenko successfully defended her flyweight title in a competitive bout against Fiorot. Fiorot, 35, had suggested Shevchenko retire if she won, and Shevchenko had responded that Fiorot should do the same if she lost.
Speaking to the media after the fight, Shevchenko explained that the wager was not meant to be taken seriously and implored Fiorot to reconsider any thought of retirement.
“To be very clear, before the fight Manon [suggested] that if she won, I retire,” Shevchenko said. “I responded to her, if I won, she retires. So I completely don’t want her to retire. This is what I really don’t want her to follow her words because I feel it’s unfair for the fighter because someone put [the words] in her mouth to promote the fight or something like that and now she feels she has to retire? No, don’t follow your words, please stay fighting.”
Shevchenko, who turned 37 in March, likely wouldn`t have retired herself had she lost, but her dominant championship performance means she can postpone that decision. “Bullet” effectively managed the aggressive style of the larger Fiorot, doing enough over five rounds to secure unanimous 48-47 scores from the judges.
She credited training with her recently retired sister, Antonina, for helping her prepare for Fiorot`s southpaw stance and technique.
“During my fighting career, my main partner, one of the main partners was my sister and she’s southpaw,” Shevchenko said. “Her kicks and her punches are incomparable. So the speed, the power, and everything and working with her during all these years is kind of like, now when Manon throws the kicks, I kind of see them from very, very far.”
Shevchenko is now in a strong position as she looks towards her next title defense. Strawweight champion Zhang Weili has expressed interest in a potential cross-divisional superfight.
However, flyweight contender Natalia Silva also had a significant win on Saturday, dominating former champion Alexa Grasso to improve her UFC record to 7-0 and solidify her own claim as a top contender for the title.
Shevchenko indicated she has no specific preference between the two potential opponents and would prefer the fans to help decide.
“Everyone was saying Weili or Natalia?” Shevchenko said. “So I don’t know, maybe fans can pay some role in that and if they can join my OnlyFans page and drop some messages who they want to see me fight next, we’ll compare who’s next.”
