Valentina Shevchenko’s Attack on War of Words

Valentina Shevchenko has prepared herself for war as she closes in on UFC 213 on July 8, when she will get her second chance at overcoming Amanda Nunes since their first meeting at UFC 196 last March.

The first clash was a close affair. With Nunes dominating Shevchenko in the second after a close opening round, the Ukrainian hammered Nunes on the feet in the third, leaving many wondering what would happen if the bout was scheduled for five rounds.

Having split her camp between three separate gyms, Shevchenko is leaving no stone unturned ahead of her first Ultimate Fighting Championship title date.

“It’s been really great to be in Denver. For this camp, I started in Thailand at Tiger Muay Thai gym. I then continued the camp with Gracie Barra with ‘Draculino’ (Vinicius Magalhaes). After that we came to Denver, we’re training at 303 Academy,” she explained.

“Of course, I’ve still been working with my longtime coach Pavel Fedotov, so I’m feeling very good. The altitude in Colorado is very helpful for my physical condition. We have been working very hard for this fight to ensure a good result.”

The former muay Thai and kickboxing champion has shown plenty of new wrinkles in her game with her two recent wins over Holly Holm and Julianna Pena. Despite outstriking the boxing champion and hitting a slick armbar on title-bound Pena, Shevchenko claims her confidence is generated in her training camps rather than her fights.

“It’s almost one year ago,” she remembered the initial date with Nunes.

“Since then I’ve had two very good performances, one against Holly Holm and another against Julianna Pena. After all those fights and all three training camps, I feel at my best. I get my confidence from training and I’ve been training every single day. I’m feeling very confident. I know it’s going to be a new fight and new result.”

Shevchenko’s striking ability separates her from the rest of the bantamweight field, but as she progresses through her career, the contender feels she has evolved into a mixed martial artist. With almost half of her professional wins coming by submission, Shevchenko thinks it’s time that her whole game gets some credit from the MMA universe.

“Every time I fight I tell people that I’m not just a stand-up fighter. Of course, muay Thai is my background and it’s my favorite style, but I am an MMA fighter. Many years ago I had my first fight in MMA, back in 2002. Since then, I’ve had many different fights, some I won by submission and some I won by knockout.

“What you show in the fight all depends on what your opponent shows you. My movement in the fight is based on what my opponent is doing. I don’t think about what I want to do when I’m in there. My only goal is the victory.”

A victory this time around will mean more than all the 14 that have come before it as Shevchenko closes in on her long time goal of securing UFC gold.

“Before I even stepped into the Octagon for the first time my goal and my dream was to win this belt. Step by step I have moved closer. It doesn’t matter what happened up until now, I always knew I would get the opportunity to fight for the title.

“Now, this rematch is for the belt and I will do everything to take the belt. After that, I’ll do my best in every fight to keep it. I want to leave my power, my everything, inside that Octagon and make every fight a unique fight.”

The dynamic between Shevchenko and Nunes is different this time around. Maybe the rivalry between the two has blossomed, or perhaps the public back and forth we’ve seen unfold between the two is just the climate in modern day MMA. Either way, it’s nothing Shevchenko hasn’t seen before over her storied career.

“I’ve been in martial arts for 20 years and I fought many different opponents. Some of them were respectful and some of them talked too much. I know that when it comes to the fight, none of it matters.

“When the door closes in the Octagon it’s just going to be me and her. Nothing can help her then, not the words she was saying before the fight. It will be kicks and punches and nothing more.

“For me, the talking just isn’t important. I don’t think any of that talking is real. The only thing that’s real is the result of the fight. That’s No. 1. All the rest of this is just part of the show. We can do that too, no problem. For me, all that is important is winning.”

Even though she hasn’t claimed that bantamweight title yet, Shevchenko didn’t rule out exploring different weight classes as the UFC look to launch the flyweight division later this year.

“For 135, I never cut weight. I’m always at 135. It makes me feel good because I don’t have to think about cutting weight. It’s my natural weight. At the moment, all I’m worried about is UFC 213. After I win, maybe then I can think about this a little bit more.”