Some are unsure as to who the next opponent for UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will be but a former member of Team Alexa Grasso has a defined interest in seeing Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili. Appearing on Bowks Talking Bouts ahead of his UFC 318 clash with Ateba Gautier, Robert Valentin touched on several subjects including his TUF tenure which gave him a path toward the octagon.
With Shevchenko serving as the opposing coach to Grasso during season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter, the two flyweights went on to fight with Shevchenko reclaiming her crown and then defending it against Manon Fiorot in May at UFC 315. Valentin was a member of Team Grasso when Alexa Grasso was still the reigning flyweight champion with Grasso also competing at UFC 315, losing to now-number one contender Natalia Silva. It would seem like Silva could possibly be next for Shevchenko considering the divisional meritocracy of it. But a superfight with dominant strawweight titleholder Zhang Weili has been something fans have long wanted to see.
As someone who also trains out of Bangtao Muay Thai as Weili does and when asked if we will get Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili next, Valentin said,
"I really hope so. I mean for the women's MMA, this is the fight to make right now. Undoubtedly Zhang Weili, in my opinion, one of the most entertaining women in MMA ever. The way; how she fights is I think levels above what other women can show in the octagon. On the other side, Valentina is like maybe coming to the end of her career now and she also deserves big fights that will be remembered. I kind of feel like in her last fights, she kind of blasted through her competition."
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili thoughts continued by Valentin
Further articulating his thoughts on the machinations of this possible MMA dream matchup with Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili, Valentin continued,
"Those fights they don't really give her the value in terms of fans remembering her name as what she would deserve. A fight like Valentina versus Zhang Weili, that's a historical fight. That's going to bring a huge amount of fans to the sport. I mean China, big market. Russian speaking fans, huge market. Two of the best women to ever do it in MMA. There is no better matchup to make and both of these women deserve that spotlight and the fans deserve an entertaining fight which undoubtedly they will bring to the octagon."
