Antonina Shevchenko, the older sister of Valentina Shevchenko, is reported to be making her UFC debut against Ashlee Evans-Smith, according to an ESPN report. The bout is scheduled to take place at the TUF 28 Finale on November 30th at the Pearl Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Antonina Shevchenko punched her ticket into the UFC in the second season of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series with an impressive and dominant second-round TKO over Jaymee Nievara. In doing so, Shevchenko extended her undefeated streak to 6-0. Arriving in the UFC and being able to implement her Muay Thai in the most premiere fighting organization in the world is the culmination of Shevchenko’s life work:
“Muay Thai is my life, truly,” Shevchenko told Fightmag.com. “I started to train when I was about 7 years old. I started because of my mum, and she was a sportswoman herself. She wanted me and Valentina to start martial arts. She took us to our coach [Pavel Fedotov], and we’ve trained with him for more than 20 years now. Muay Thai is everything for me. My whole life revolves around my training and travelling around the world.”
Shevchenko’s next flight will be to the same city where she earned her UFC contract: Las Vegas, Nevada against an awaiting Ashlee Evans-Smith.
#10 ranked flyweight Ashlee Evans-Smith is a six-fight UFC veteran with a promotional record of 3-3. Her .500 record will lean into the plus or minus margin when she duels with Shevchenko this November. In her most recent bout, Evans-Smith defeated Bec Rawlings via unanimous decision at UFC 223. Evans-Smith will now have the opportunity to make it two in a row against the Russian newcomer.
Is Ashlee Evans-Smith the right opponent for the debuting Antonina Shevchenko?
