Newly crowned UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña may have a challenge from below to be concerned about.
Over two years on from having her reign ended at the first hurdle by Amanda Nunes, Peña returned to the throne by way of a controversial decision win over Raquel Pennington in this past weekend’s UFC 307 co-main event.
While her second divisional rule has only just got underway, talk has quickly turned to her first defense and the likelihood of Kayla Harrison getting a shot in her third Octagon outing.
“The Venezuelan Vixen,” however, has made it clear that she would rather complete her trilogy with Amanda Nunes should the Brazilian end her retirement.
But there’s also been growing talk of another former opponent of the bantamweight queen’s pursuing a second victory over her…
Shevchenko Open To Bantamweight Return In ‘Right’ Circumstances
During an interview with Bodog Canada prior to UFC 307, flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko assessed a possible rematch with Peña were she to achieve a similar feat at the expense of Pennington.
The Kyrgyzstani standout submitted Peña en route to an ultimately unsuccessful bantamweight title bid back in 2017. “Bullet” later dropped to 125 pounds, where she enjoyed a lengthy title reign and recently commenced a second.
Be it a flyweight defense opposite Manon Fiorot or a bantamweight return, Shevchenko insisted that she’s yet to give any thought to what could await her down the line.
But “Bullet” was also keen to note that nothing is off the table, including a move back up to 135 pounds in pursuit of two-division champ status.
“You know, I was so busy working on returning my belt back at flyweight, so I didn’t have a chance to think about anything else,” Shevchenko said. “I was focusing so much on Alexa (Grasso). For a year-and-a-half, the only one person I was thinking of was her.
“I’m not discarding any opportunities. I’m not saying something like, ‘No!’ But yeah, when I recover from the last fight and we go back and see my team, my manager…we will make the decision,” Shevchenko continued. “Probably for me to go up to bantamweight, it would have to pass some time to build up back my muscles. Spending so long at flyweight, I kind of get smaller. … But if I decide to move up, it has to be right.”
For now, both Shevchenko and Peña will be continuing to celebrate their recent returns to their respective divisional mountaintops.
And while both women have challengers waiting in the wings, should they cement their grips on the UFC gold in their possession, perhaps a second dance will be in their futures.
