Valentina Shevchenko cruised to a unanimous decision shutout victory over Liz Carmouche this past Saturday at UFC Uruguay to turn in her second successful flyweight title defense. Leading into the fight, Shevchenko closed as a monstrous -1200 favorite over Carmouche, which reflects the fact that, both before and after Shevchenko’s victory, UFC fans are wondering who, if anyone, is a threat to Shevchenko at 125.
As it happens, there is one particular 125er that every fan will consider a major threat to Shevchenko and who the public can safely assume would be a sizable favorite over Shevchenko, that being the men’s flyweight champion Henry Cejudo.
As bizarre and controversial as such a notion would be, it was Cejudo himself who first put the thought into MMA fans’ mind last month when he asserted that Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko “can get it, too.” Sunday evening, Cejudo doubled down on this claim, going so far as to directly challenge Valentina Shevchenko to a fight via Twitter:
“So I’m out here enjoying my beautiful Sunday in beautiful Las Vegas, but my phone just keeps blowing up that someone by the name of Valentina “The Bullet” Shevchenko is the most dominant champion in the world,” Cejudo began. “And guess what? I get a little jelly. Because you know what? She has gold, and I want that gold.
“Valentina Shevchenko, I have a message for you,” Cejudo continued. “I’m looking to become the first intergender world champ that this world has ever seen. I’m calling you out. You can be the next to bend the knee to Triple C.”
Henry Cejudo last competed against Marlon Moraes at UFC 237 where he became a double champion after winning the bantamweight championship in the bout to pair with his flyweight championship. Cejudo is currently sidelined recovering from shoulder surgery.
How do you expect Valentina Shevchenko to react to Henry Cejudo’s “challenge”?
