Dricus du Plessis Recalls Intense Sparring with Valentina Shevchenko When She Head Kicked Him

Dricus du Plessis Recalls Intense Sparring with Valentina Shevchenko When She Head Kicked HimDricus Du Plessis recently called what it was like training with fellow UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko. During a recent…

Dricus du Plessis Recalls Intense Sparring with Valentina Shevchenko When She Head Kicked Him

Dricus Du Plessis recently called what it was like training with fellow UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko.

During a recent appearance on Breakfast with Martin Bester, ‘Stillknocks’ shared an interesting story about his experience sparring with ‘Bullet’ long before he himself would become a UFC titleholder.

“She is incredible. I sparred [with] her once,” Du Plessis said. “This was when I was younger, like 19 or 20. She’s very small… I’m looking at this lady, I’m still a youngster, so I thought, ‘How am I supposed to?’ And she kicked me right in the head. And I’m like, ‘Okay, then this is not me taking it easy. This is me surviving.’”

Today, both Du Plessis and Shevchenko are UFC champions. DDP’ is currently holding things down in the middleweight division following his split decision victory over ex-titleholder Sean Strickland in January. Since then, Du Plessis has successfully defended his gold, submitting Israel Adesanya in the third round of their 185-pound headliner in August.

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A month later, Shevchenko would reclaim the women’s flyweight crown via a dominant five-round performance against Alexa Grasso at UFC 306 inside Sphere in Las Vegas. It was her ninth career victory in UFC title fights and etched Shevchenko’s name in the history books as the promotion’s first and only two-time women’s 125-pound champion.

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Dricus Du Plessis books rematch with Sean Strickland at UFC 312

While ‘Bullet’ has not yet booked the first defense of her second reign, Dricus Du Plessis will be back in action on February 8 when the promotion heads back to Sydney, Australia for UFC 312.

There, ‘DDP’ will run it back with Strickland, the middleweight division’s top-ranked contender.

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Strickland earned his rematch with ‘DDP’ via a solid showing against one-time title challenger Paulo Costa in June.

Manon Fiorot Loses Patience In Title Fight Wait, Tells Valentina Shevchenko ‘Sign The Contract Or Retire’

UFC women’s flyweight Manon Fiorot continues to berate Valentina Shevchenko over their expected championship collision. Fiorot earned her shot this past March when she got the better of Erin Blanchfield in Atlantic City. The result, which came in the Frenchwoman’s maiden main event on MMA’s biggest stage, extended her professional win streak to 12 and […]

UFC women’s flyweight Manon Fiorot continues to berate Valentina Shevchenko over their expected championship collision.

Fiorot earned her shot this past March when she got the better of Erin Blanchfield in Atlantic City. The result, which came in the Frenchwoman’s maiden main event on MMA’s biggest stage, extended her professional win streak to 12 and perfect UFC record to 7-0.

Having defeated “Cold Blooded,” Rose Namajunas, Katlyn Cerminara and Jennifer Maia consecutively, there’s little doubt over the #2-ranked contender’s place at the front of the queue. But for much of this year, “The Beast” was made to wait as Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso completed their trilogy.

“Bullet” emerged victorious from it at the Sphere, returning to the throne and beginning a second reign as 125-pound queen. Fortunately for the matchmakers, Shevchenko’s first challenge was already seemingly lined up — and it’s safe to say she’s in a hurry…

Fiorot recently took to social media to express frustration at the ongoing wait for her title chance, tagging Shevchenko and calling for her to either put pen to paper on a bout agreement or hang up her gloves.

@BulletValentina You can’t hide anymore, so sign this contract or retire,” Fiorot wrote.

For now, a date and event for Fiorot’s likely title shot is unclear, but she’ll no doubt be preparing for the her shot at joining Ciryl Gane as only the second French UFC champ — first to achieve the feat as an undisputed titleholder.

With two championship fights set for both UFC 311 in Los Angeles on Jan. 18 and UFC 312 in Australia the following month, it would appear that the earliest Shevchenko vs. Fiorot could come together is March.

Manon Fiorot Loses Patience In Title Fight Wait, Tells Valentina Shevchenko ‘Sign The Contract Or Retire’

UFC women’s flyweight Manon Fiorot continues to berate Valentina Shevchenko over their expected championship collision. Fiorot earned her shot this past March when she got the better of Erin Blanchfield in Atlantic City. The result, which came in the Frenchwoman’s maiden main event on MMA’s biggest stage, extended her professional win streak to 12 and […]

UFC women’s flyweight Manon Fiorot continues to berate Valentina Shevchenko over their expected championship collision.

Fiorot earned her shot this past March when she got the better of Erin Blanchfield in Atlantic City. The result, which came in the Frenchwoman’s maiden main event on MMA’s biggest stage, extended her professional win streak to 12 and perfect UFC record to 7-0.

Having defeated “Cold Blooded,” Rose Namajunas, Katlyn Cerminara and Jennifer Maia consecutively, there’s little doubt over the #2-ranked contender’s place at the front of the queue. But for much of this year, “The Beast” was made to wait as Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso completed their trilogy.

“Bullet” emerged victorious from it at the Sphere, returning to the throne and beginning a second reign as 125-pound queen. Fortunately for the matchmakers, Shevchenko’s first challenge was already seemingly lined up — and it’s safe to say she’s in a hurry…

Fiorot recently took to social media to express frustration at the ongoing wait for her title chance, tagging Shevchenko and calling for her to either put pen to paper on a bout agreement or hang up her gloves.

@BulletValentina You can’t hide anymore, so sign this contract or retire,” Fiorot wrote.

For now, a date and event for Fiorot’s likely title shot is unclear, but she’ll no doubt be preparing for the her shot at joining Ciryl Gane as only the second French UFC champ — first to achieve the feat as an undisputed titleholder.

With two championship fights set for both UFC 311 in Los Angeles on Jan. 18 and UFC 312 in Australia the following month, it would appear that the earliest Shevchenko vs. Fiorot could come together is March.

Manon Fiorot Loses Patience In Title Fight Wait, Tells Valentina Shevchenko ‘Sign The Contract Or Retire’

UFC women’s flyweight Manon Fiorot continues to berate Valentina Shevchenko over their expected championship collision. Fiorot earned her shot this past March when she got the better of Erin Blanchfield in Atlantic City. The result, which came in the Frenchwoman’s maiden main event on MMA’s biggest stage, extended her professional win streak to 12 and […]

UFC women’s flyweight Manon Fiorot continues to berate Valentina Shevchenko over their expected championship collision.

Fiorot earned her shot this past March when she got the better of Erin Blanchfield in Atlantic City. The result, which came in the Frenchwoman’s maiden main event on MMA’s biggest stage, extended her professional win streak to 12 and perfect UFC record to 7-0.

Having defeated “Cold Blooded,” Rose Namajunas, Katlyn Cerminara and Jennifer Maia consecutively, there’s little doubt over the #2-ranked contender’s place at the front of the queue. But for much of this year, “The Beast” was made to wait as Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso completed their trilogy.

“Bullet” emerged victorious from it at the Sphere, returning to the throne and beginning a second reign as 125-pound queen. Fortunately for the matchmakers, Shevchenko’s first challenge was already seemingly lined up — and it’s safe to say she’s in a hurry…

Fiorot recently took to social media to express frustration at the ongoing wait for her title chance, tagging Shevchenko and calling for her to either put pen to paper on a bout agreement or hang up her gloves.

@BulletValentina You can’t hide anymore, so sign this contract or retire,” Fiorot wrote.

For now, a date and event for Fiorot’s likely title shot is unclear, but she’ll no doubt be preparing for the her shot at joining Ciryl Gane as only the second French UFC champ — first to achieve the feat as an undisputed titleholder.

With two championship fights set for both UFC 311 in Los Angeles on Jan. 18 and UFC 312 in Australia the following month, it would appear that the earliest Shevchenko vs. Fiorot could come together is March.

Dakota Ditcheva Says She was Expecting More from Santos Due to Valentina Shevchenko

Dakota Ditcheva Says She was Expecting More from Santos Due to Valentina Shevchenko‘Dangerous’ Dakota Ditcheva just won the PFL world title by stunning knockout, stopping Taila Santos in the second round…

Dakota Ditcheva Says She was Expecting More from Santos Due to Valentina Shevchenko

‘Dangerous’ Dakota Ditcheva just won the PFL world title by stunning knockout, stopping Taila Santos in the second round in a dominant performance. Because of Valentina Shevchenko, Ditcheva thought Brazil’s Santos was going to bring more.

Dakota Ditcheva Knocks out Taila Santos

Three knockouts in a row are all the Bulgarian-Russian needed to capture a whopping $1,000,000 in the PFL capturing a world title for the 2024 season. In the finals, Dakota Ditcheva faced veteran athlete Taila Santos who got folded over in the second round.

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Brazil’s Taila Santos has defeated notable athletes such as Liz Carmouche, and Joanne Wood, among others. Valentina Shevchenko is a multi-time UFC champion with tons of title defenses to her name. In their five-round war with the UFC crown on the line, Santos nearly took the throne from ‘Bullet’ Shevchenko. Because of that match, Ditcheva thought Santos was going to have more.

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Speaking in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Ditcheva explained:

“I expected Taila Santos to bring a bit more because of her fight with Valentina Shevchenko. But I knew I’d get the stoppage in there.

“She’s never been stopped. Shevchenko didn’t stop her. People thought [Santos] beat [Shevchenko]… Erin Blanchfield went 5 rounds with her. I just got in there and made it look like another on the list.”

Ditcheva added that she has loads of respect for the skills and strength of Santos as well. The undefeated Ditcheva comes from a Muay Thai and Kickboxing background which was largely taught to her by her moth who was a champion in these striking sports. After this win, she is next looking to compete in the PFL in February.

Dakota Ditcheva Says She was Expecting More from Santos Due to Valentina Shevchenko

Dakota Ditcheva Says She was Expecting More from Santos Due to Valentina Shevchenko‘Dangerous’ Dakota Ditcheva just won the PFL world title by stunning knockout, stopping Taila Santos in the second round…

Dakota Ditcheva Says She was Expecting More from Santos Due to Valentina Shevchenko

‘Dangerous’ Dakota Ditcheva just won the PFL world title by stunning knockout, stopping Taila Santos in the second round in a dominant performance. Because of Valentina Shevchenko, Ditcheva thought Brazil’s Santos was going to bring more.

Dakota Ditcheva Knocks out Taila Santos

Three knockouts in a row are all the Bulgarian-Russian needed to capture a whopping $1,000,000 in the PFL capturing a world title for the 2024 season. In the finals, Dakota Ditcheva faced veteran athlete Taila Santos who got folded over in the second round.

dakota ditcheva

Brazil’s Taila Santos has defeated notable athletes such as Liz Carmouche, and Joanne Wood, among others. Valentina Shevchenko is a multi-time UFC champion with tons of title defenses to her name. In their five-round war with the UFC crown on the line, Santos nearly took the throne from ‘Bullet’ Shevchenko. Because of that match, Ditcheva thought Santos was going to have more.

dakota ditcheva pfl 1

Speaking in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Ditcheva explained:

“I expected Taila Santos to bring a bit more because of her fight with Valentina Shevchenko. But I knew I’d get the stoppage in there.

“She’s never been stopped. Shevchenko didn’t stop her. People thought [Santos] beat [Shevchenko]… Erin Blanchfield went 5 rounds with her. I just got in there and made it look like another on the list.”

Ditcheva added that she has loads of respect for the skills and strength of Santos as well. The undefeated Ditcheva comes from a Muay Thai and Kickboxing background which was largely taught to her by her moth who was a champion in these striking sports. After this win, she is next looking to compete in the PFL in February.