Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, is expected to make her next title defense against No. 3-ranked contender, Liz Carmouche, if “Girl-Rilla” can get past Roxanne Modafferi at UFC San Antonio next month on ESPN.
While that might not be the kind of match up to get mixed martial arts (MMA) fans running to the ticket window, it stands as one of the more important fights of Shevchenko’s career, thanks to a technical knockout loss to Carmouche back in 2010.
“It was like some kind of medical stoppage,” Shevchenko (17-3) told BJPenn.com Radio. “I was dominating all round, I was throwing combinations, I even took her down. I came for the leg lock and she threw from the ground — I was standing on my feet — she throws the heel and it landed right on my brow. So [I got] this cut on the eye and the doctor decided to stop the fight. This was not the way I planned [it], I was ready to continue the fight but the doctor decided different way.”
Outside of her decision losses to women’s bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes, at 135 pounds, Shevchenko’s only other professional defeat came to Carmouche (13-6). No question “Bullet” will be eager to avenge that controversial loss.
That requires Modafferi to stick to the script. She already spoiled one party in the form of Antonina Shevchenko, Valentina’s sister, at UFC St. Petersburg and a crafty veteran like “The Happy Warrior” can never be counted out.