Amanda Nunes has defeated Valentino Shevchenko twice. The first time they met at UFC 196, Nunes earned a unanimous decision victory. The second time they met, at UFC 215, the bantamweight title was on the line. Nunes earned a controversial split-decision victory that night. Shevchenko believes she won the second fight with Nunes and that a trilogy bout between the two should be booked.
“I think it would be logical,” Shevchenko said in Spanish on a recent episode of Hablemos MMA (via MMA Junkie). “She’s been going through her opponents very easily, and I think that for the future, it would be logical to have a third fight because the second fight … I didn’t lose it. I won it.”
Valentina Shevchenko On Facing Amanda Nunes Again
Shevchenko believes the judging would be different if Nunes and her fought while both are champions.
“This fight right now, as champion vs. champion, I think the judges will have a different outlook towards the fight,” Shevchenko continued. “Three years ago in 2017 when we had our fight, they thought that just that one thing gave her the victory, and that was the takedown she got in the fifth round. She didn’t even start it – it was me who initiated. But since it was the final round, we were both slippery. She’s heavier, so I ended on bottom when I was supposed to land on top. That’s the only thing that gave her a small advantage in the eyes of the judges that night. But that’s how it went down, and I think it would be very logical to have that third fight between us.”
Shevchenko has only lost 3 times in her pro career. Other than her two dropped decisions to Nunes, she lost to Liz Carmouche via doctor’s stoppage in 2010. Shevchenko then avenged that loss in 2019.
As for when she’d like to face Nunes again, the UFC Flyweight Champion isn’t too sure.
“To be honest, I don’t know (when I’d like to fight Nunes) and I haven’t thought about it because right now I’m focused on my weight class – 125 pounds,” Shevchenko continued. “All I have in mind these days is being dominant and retain my belt again and again, and that’s what I think of when I put thought in my near future. I think if this fight goes down in the future, I would definitely like to have the fans around me and the public back and not in an empty arena.”
