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Valentina Shevchenko snaps back at Amanda Nunes after ‘The Lioness’ squashes trilogy talk: ‘She’s not a good person’

Valentina Shevchenko still plans on completing her trilogy with reigning two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes, even if ‘The Lioness’ has seemingly moved on. Nunes will be back in action on Saturday night as the promotion returns to the Great White North for UFC 289, headlined by a women’s bantamweight world title fight between Nunes and […]

Valentina Shevchenko still plans on completing her trilogy with reigning two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes, even if ‘The Lioness’ has seemingly moved on.

Nunes will be back in action on Saturday night as the promotion returns to the Great White North for UFC 289, headlined by a women’s bantamweight world title fight between Nunes and No. 5 ranked contender Irena Aldana. Should Nunes leave Vancouver with her 135-pound crown intact, ‘The Lioness’ will likely find herself once again on a collision course with division rival Julianna Pena, but a third meeting with Shevchenko seems inevitable to everyone. Everyone, except Nunes.

Appearing at the UFC 289 media event on Wednesday, Nunes suggested that a third fight with Valentina Shevchenko “don’t sell nothing” and further disrespected the former flyweight world champion, believing the ‘holes in her game‘ directly led to her submission loss against Alexa Grasso in March. ‘Bullet’ didn’t take kindly to Nunes’ comments and snapped back at the general consensus women’s MMA GOAT.

“I think this fight is still going to happen,” Shevchenko told CBS Sports. “The number one step is taking my belt back.

“I can definitely say the same thing about her fight with Julianna Pena. I feel like she’s trying to put everyone down and take away the respect they deserve. I feel it’s not good. Being a professional, being a martial artist, you have to give credit to everyone. Seeing things like this just shows what kind of person she is. She’s not a good person it looks like.”

When Valentina Shevchenko got fired up when she heard that Amanda Nunes believed there would not be a trilogy fight between then and she let her feelings be known.

Full interview: https://t.co/VxAQoO2LEy pic.twitter.com/3iNNkPvShl

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) June 10, 2023

Valentina Shevchenko is Determined to Take Her Belt Back in Alexa Grasso Rematch

In December 2021, Julianna Pena shocked the world when she practically walked through Amanda Nunes at UFC 269, submitting ‘The Lioness’ in the second round to capture her first UFC title. The ‘Venezuelan Vixen’ handed the strap back to Nunes seven months later, suffering a dominant five-round unanimous decision defeat. With the fighters sitting at 1-1, a trilogy fight always felt inevitable though it wasn’t one fans were clamoring for.

Experiencing her own shocking upset inside the Octagon this year, Valentina Shevchenko believes being a champion for so long makes one feel complacent and at times, practically invincible. But now that she has been brought back down to earth, she’s ready to get back to what made her a world champion in the first place, just as Nunes did in her rematch with Pena.

“Being the champion for a long time, you get used to it,” Shevchenko said. “Everyone is saying you’re the greatest and you’re the best. You take it even if you don’t want to listen. Your brain takes it. Now it’s back to the roots. Back to how you started. To be fierce and angry like you were at the beginning. They can study me all day long. All year long. They will actually take nothing from that. Yes, she can repeat a sequence and take a chance opportunity, but I won’t give her any chances in our next fight.”

A rematch between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso is expected to go down before 2023 comes to a close, but no official date or location has been announced.

Despite Amanda Nunes already holding two victories over Valentina Shevchenko, do you want to see them complete their trilogy?

UFC translator looks back on ‘hilarious moment’ with Charles Oliveira after Conor McGregor broke his leg

Fans may not know the name Fabiano Buskei, but they have seen him plenty of times on television alongside Brazilian stars like Charles Oliveira. Fluent in five languages, Buskei is often seen on UFC programming as the translator for Brazilian fighters. A Las Vegas native, Buskei was contacted by the promotion in 2020 amid the […]

Fans may not know the name Fabiano Buskei, but they have seen him plenty of times on television alongside Brazilian stars like Charles Oliveira.

Fluent in five languages, Buskei is often seen on UFC programming as the translator for Brazilian fighters. A Las Vegas native, Buskei was contacted by the promotion in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and asked to translate during the UFC’s extended stay at The APEX. Clearly, the UFC liked what they saw as Buskei went on to become a full-fledged member of the team, traveling with the promotion and often appearing inside the Octagon to help bridge the language gap between fans and some of its biggest stars.

One of Buskei’s more memorable nights came in July 2021 during UFC 264. Then-lightweight world champion Charles Oliveira was on hand to take in the evening’s main event between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. Expecting to square off with the winner, ‘Do Bronx’ was ready to go live as soon as the main event concluded to share thoughts on his next opponent. It was then that McGregor suffered a brutal leg break in the opening round, a moment that caused utter chaos in and out of the Octagon.

“My interaction with [Oliveira] lasted minutes, but you have to understand the background here,” Buskei said this week on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. “I’m from Curitiba and had a privileged life. You think of a fighter, you know where he came from, and this guy’s aura. … First, he smiles, and the world opens for him. He has a way of speaking, to express himself clearly, looking people right in their eyes. I thought, ‘This guy has something.’ It was a pleasure to meet him.

“And to add insult to injury, the icing on the cake was McGregor on a stretcher screaming obscenities to everybody,” he said with a laugh. “He was talking so much crap. It was a hilarious moment, and I was trying to focus. I even asked Megan [Olivi] live, ‘Sorry, I didn’t hear what you said.’ She was extremely gracious to me. There was no way I could hear.”

Fabiano Buskei Predicts Charles Oliveira’s UFC 289 Post-Fight Speech

Even before making his promotional debut in 2010, Charles Oliveira was well-known and respected in the Brazilian mixed martial arts community. His run as one of the most prolific finishers in UFC history over the last dozen years has catapulted him to superstardom amongst his countrymen, amassing almost seven million followers on Instagram and multiple sponsorship deals thanks to his immense popularity.

“He can say whatever he wants, man,” Buskei continued. “He came back and dropped [opponents] and won, and the atmosphere was very interesting. Charles is loved by people. I had the privilege to connect him to a little bit because now they know what he says. That really is a big responsibility, because it’s a person, it’s a brand, and I want fighters to profit from it. It’s about paying bills, and they don’t have 25-year-long careers.”

Buskei will be on hand to translate for ‘Do Bronx’ at UFC 289 on Saturday night when the former UFC champion steps into the co-main event for a clash against streaking lightweight contender Beneil Dariush. Should Oliveira get his hand raised, Buskei already has a pretty good idea of what the submission specialist will say.

“‘What happened in Abu Dhabi doesn’t define me,’” Buskei predicted as Oliveira. “‘Any person can have a bad day. But you know who I am. I’m a lion and I’m going all in. I’m going to take what is mine.’

“That’s what I see. We did just a human simulation of what AI would say is going to be Charles’ speech. ChatGPT just said what he’s say. I assume, based on what I see from him and from what I’ve witnessed alongside him, that the general idea is like, ‘A loss doesn’t define me. I’m always here. That [belt] is mine.’ When you’re a lion, you look at that belt and it says it’s yours.

“The sports wins with that because it’s a rivalry [with Makhachev], a rivalry of cultures and styles, and there’s the Khabib [Nurmagomedov] factor. We know Charles’ trajectory and where he came from. It’s not just two or three fights we had the privilege to see up close, it’s much more than that. And it’s colliding with another story, too. [Dariush is] always respectful, and I absolutely doubt [Oliveira] won’t be extremely respectful with Beneil.”

Will Charles Oliveira get back into the win column at UFC 289?

Chael Sonnen predicts landslide victory for Beneil Dariush at UFC 289: ‘Oliveira does not win a round’

Chael Sonnen does not see Charles Oliveira winning a single round against Beneil Dariush on Saturday night. ‘Do Bronx’ will return to the Octagon at UFC 289 for the first time since being handed a one-sided submission loss at the hands of reigning lightweight world champion Islam Makhachev in October. Looking to bounce back and […]

Chael Sonnen does not see Charles Oliveira winning a single round against Beneil Dariush on Saturday night.

‘Do Bronx’ will return to the Octagon at UFC 289 for the first time since being handed a one-sided submission loss at the hands of reigning lightweight world champion Islam Makhachev in October. Looking to bounce back and potentially earn himself another opportunity to reclaim the 155-pound crown, Oliveira is set to square off with streaking lightweight contender Beneil Dariush.

Dariush goes into the bout as a moderate favorite, hovering around -150 on most sportsbooks. But if you ask Chael Sonnen, things will be much more decisive in Saturday’s co-main event.

“I officially predict that we have not heard the last of this fight, that the X’s and O’s are not overly close. I officially predict Charles Oliveira does not win a round,” Sonnen predicted during a recent episode of his Beyond the Fight YouTube series. “I’m not looking to be a jerk. I think Oliveira is just a wonderful fighter, this is another category. There are many fighters that believe Dariush is going to beat Islam.”

“If Benny’s as good as people say he is, and we never know that’s why we have to go to the fight, but if he is… Islam vs Charles was not competitive, not remotely competitive. It was uncompetitive to the point I don’t believe this is a number one contender’s match” (h/t MiddleEasy).

Chael Sonnen Believes Charles Oliveira Wants Nothing to Do with Islam Makhachev

Beneil Dariush rides into the Great White North on the back of an eight-fight win streak dating back to 2018, including victories against Tony Ferguson and Mateusz Gamrot in his last two appearances. With a win over ‘Do Bronx’ at UFC 289, Dariush will be all but guaranteed his first crack at UFC gold. That task might be easier than expected according to Chael Sonnen, who suspects Oliveira wants no piece of a rematch with Islam Makhachev and will bring his less-than-best as a result.

“The fact that we’re told Charles was offered a rematch with Islam and turned it down lets us know that at least in that moment that wasn’t the case,” Sonnen continued. “There’s nothing wrong with what Oliveira is saying. You’ve got to make a case for you. You got to make your stand somewhere, be careful what you let into your bubble. I don’t have any problem with any of it but as an outsider looking in, I don’t believe it. I also don’t believe that he believes it. It puts you in a very interesting spot.

“Based on everything we know, we really only know one thing. Charles has made it very clear he does not want to fight Islam. Charles didn’t want to fight Islam the first time because of the location… There are things that Charles doesn’t want so how do you get the motivation to beat Benny when your reward is a match with a guy you don’t want to fight?”

UFC 289 emanates from Rogers Arena in Vancouver. The event is scheduled to be headlined by a women’s bantamweight world title fight as reigning champion Amanda Nunes defends her crown against Mexico’s Irene Aldana.

Do you agree with Chael Sonnen’s assessment of the UFC 289 co-main event?

Video – Valentina Shevchenko shuts down fan who asks her out at UFC 289: ‘I’m single, but I’m not sure about the number’

Former flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko hilariously shut down a fan during a Q&A session ahead of UFC 289 this weekend – electing against giving the former her number upon request. Shevchenko, the current #1 ranked flyweight challenger, most recently co-headlined UFC 285 back in March of this year, suffering an eventual fourth round submission defeat, […]

Former flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko hilariously shut down a fan during a Q&A session ahead of UFC 289 this weekend – electing against giving the former her number upon request.

Shevchenko, the current #1 ranked flyweight challenger, most recently co-headlined UFC 285 back in March of this year, suffering an eventual fourth round submission defeat, Shevchenko was submitted by Mexican challenger, Alexa Grasso at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Yet to return to the Octagon in the time since, Shevchenko is expected to rematch Lobo Gym mainstay, Grasso before the close of the year – potentially in September at a pay-per-view event.

Appearing at a question and answer session at a UFC 30th Anniversary event yesterday ahead of UFC 289 this weekend in Vancouver, Canada – Valentina Shevchenko was asked out by a fan as she fielded questions – quickly knocking back the hopeful caller.

“One, are you single?” The fan asked during the Q&A session. “Two, do you want my number?”

“Thank you,” Valentina Shevchenko replied. “I am single, and I am not sure about the number.”

In response to Kyrgyzstan native, Shevchenko, the fan replied, ‘That’s not a no” – receiving a chorus of laughs from those in attendance.

23-4 as a professional, Shevchenko suffered her first loss at the flyweight limit in her March blemish to Grasso earlier this year, having previously landed a stunning nine straight victories since her move to 125 pounds back in 2018.

Debuting with a stoppage win over Priscila Cachoeira, Shevchenko then nabbed vacant flyweight gold in a decision win over former strawweight champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Valentina Shevchenko defended the flyweight title seven times

Successfully defending the flyweight crown on seven consecutive occasions, Shevchenko landed wins over Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian, Jennifer Maia, Jessica Andrade, Lauren Murphy, and Taila Santos during her reign as undisputed flyweight championship holder.

Video – Valentina Shevchenko shuts down fan who asks her out at UFC 289: ‘I’m single, but I’m not sure about the number’

Former flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko hilariously shut down a fan during a Q&A session ahead of UFC 289 this weekend – electing against giving the former her number upon request.

Yet to return to the Octagon in the time since, Shevchenko is expected to rematch Lobo Gym mainstay, Grasso before the close of the year – potentially in September at a pay-per-view event.

“One, are you single?” The fan asked during the Q&A session. “Two, do you want my number?”

“Thank you,” Valentina Shevchenko replied. “I am single, and I am not sure about the number.”

In response to Kyrgyzstan native, Shevchenko, the fan replied, ‘That’s not a no” – receiving a chorus of laughs from those in attendance.

Debuting with a stoppage win over Priscila Cachoeira, Shevchenko then nabbed vacant flyweight gold in a decision win over former strawweight champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Valentina Shevchenko defended the flyweight title seven times

Beneil Dariush doubts Dustin Poirier’s chances to win at UFC 291: ‘I think he’s a little too comfortable’

Ahead of his incoming UFC 289 co-headliner this weekend, surging lightweight contender, Beneil Dariush has doubted the chances of success of former interim division champion, Dustin Poirier next month ahead of his UFC 291 BMF championship rematch with Justin Gaethje. Dariush, the current #4 ranked lightweight contender, is slated to co-headline UFC 289 this weekend […]

Dariush, the current #4 ranked lightweight contender, is slated to co-headline UFC 289 this weekend in Vancouver, Canada, taking on former undisputed lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira at the Rogers Arena.

Last time out, the Iranian-born grappler turned in his seventh consecutive victory at UFC 280 last October, securing a hugely one-sided unanimous decision triumph over former two-weight KSW champion, Mateusz Gamrot.

As for Poirier, the Lafayette native most recently featured on the main card of UFC 281 in November, scoring a third round rear-naked choke submission win over Michael Chandler at Madison Square Garden.

And next month, atop a UFC 291 pay-per-view card in Salt Lake City, Utah – Poirier rematches fellow former interim lightweight titleholder, Gaethje at the Delta Center – with symbolic BMF spoils on the line.

Beneil Dariush looks to earn his first title challenge this weekend at UFC 289

Despite opening as a betting favorite to defeat Gaethje next month in Utah, Dariush claims “comfort” may have taken a foothold on Poirier, picking former training partner, Gaethje to defeat the Louisianan.

“I think if you’re practical, you go with Dustin Poirier because of the last fight [with Justin Gaethje],” Beneil Dariush said during an interview with MMA Fighting. “I would say this – right now, I would say Justin Gaethje seems more hungry, more focused.”

“Dustin Poirier, I think he’s made a lot of money, he’s done his thing,” Beneil Dariush explained. “He seems a little bit more comfortable, and comfort’s the greatest enemy of progress. I think Dustin Poirier is a little too comfortable but I could be wrong. He could definitely show up and show me that I’m wrong.”