The UFC’s flyweight division is now one year old and is on the cusp of its first ever title defense when Nicco Montano defends her flyweight championship against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228. Though very much still in its infancy stage, Valentina has grand visions of the flyweight division’s future:
“In my opinion, flyweight will be (the most) exciting category in the UFC because we can see a lot of fighters going up from strawweight, and going down from bantamweight, and coming from outside from different promotion…and every one of them, they’re very talented,” Shevchenko told James Lynch of Fightful.com. “They’re very strong fighters. So it will be a very interesting and very exciting weight class in the future. Of course it will take a little bit more time…just like with bantamweight and strawweight, it took a little bit time to make their own history.
And now, we are living this flyweight. We are making history of this division, and this is something that is very great, and I think it’s very wonderful.”
And history will be made indeed in the co-main event of UFC 228, and Shevchenko will hope to be on the winning side of history by having her hand raised. However, as she has said in the past, she is unconvinced that here opponent, reigning champion Nicco Montano, will show up. Shevchenko was asked why exactly she is unsure of Montano’s UFC 228 appearance and she attributed it to past inconsistencies:
“I say this because when you’re dealing with a person who’s not following her words, not continuing the words she will say, you can expect from this kind of person everything. So like I said before, before she was ready to fight Juy 7th. Then, she said, no, I’m not ready for July 28th. I need more time. She, every time, changes her mind. And I hope this time she will not change her mind and will show up inside the Octagon.”
The last time an opponent didn’t show up for a title fight against Shevchenko was Amanda Nunes at UFC 213 when Amanda Nunes pulled out of defending her bantamweight title against Shevchenko less than 24 hours before the fight. When that happened, there was another champion willing to step in at the last minute and face Shevchenko. That woman, of course, is someone Shevchenko has a history with: Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Shevchenko believes that having Joanna make a run at flyweight would be great for the division’s future, and that she would be happy to continue making flyweight history after UFC 228 by beginning a new history with Jedrzejczyk:
“Everything can happen. Everything is possible. So this is one of our opportunities that can happen in the future as well.
“We already made our history (under) Muay Thai rules with Joanna, and why not? Why not start our history under UFC, under MMA rules?”
Do you believe the flyweight division needs Joanna Jedrzejczyk?
