Daniel Cormier doesn’t agree with the latest update in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings due to the placements of Weili Zhang and Valentina Shevchenko.
Pound-for-pound lists are subjective and often times just made for fun. The official UFC rankings feature a P4P list for both men and women. Many have taken issue with the UFC’s P4P list for the women because strawweight champion Zhang is ahead of flyweight title holder Shevchenko. The general consensus is that Shevchenko’s resume is far more stacked than Zhang’s at this point.
Cormier Doesn’t Agree With UFC’s Women’s P4P List
Cormier spoke to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani and expressed his belief that Zhang shouldn’t be ahead of Shevchenko on anyone’s P4P list yet.
“I love Zhang Weili but there’s no way she should be above Valentina Shevchenko. She’s number two. She should never be number two over Valentina. I get it but there’s no way. It’s Amanda, Valentina, and then Zhang Weili and everybody else. But it’s Amanda and Valentina, and then everybody else because they’ve completely separated themselves from anybody else in female fighting to this point.”
Zhang is coming off a “Fight of the Year” contender against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Zhang ended up taking the split decision victory for her first successful UFC strawweight title defense.
As for Shevchenko, she’s been ruling the roost at 125 pounds. “Bullet” has three successful title defenses. In her reigns, she’s beaten Katlyn Chookagian, Liz Carmouche, and Jessica Eye. She captured the gold by turning in a one-sided unanimous decision win against Jedrzejczyk.
Zhang has been calling for a bout with Shevchenko. While “Bullet” is willing to have the matchup, she doesn’t think it should materialize now. Shevchenko has expressed her belief that Zhang should continue to prove her champion status at strawweight.
What do you make of Weili Zhang being ahead of Valentina Shevchenko on the UFC women’s P4P rankings?
