Valentina Shevchenko: MMA legend says she is "levels above" ahead of UFC 275

Valentina Shevchenko is set to make her return to the UFC octagon to defend her Women’s Flyweight Championship against Taila Santos, and an MMA legend has now discussed just how far above the competition Shevchenko is in the UFC.

Shevchenko enters the octagon on Saturday 11th June 2022 at UFC 275 as the heavy favouriteat -630, and she is expected to be adding another win to her considerable career statistics.

Here is what a Mixed Martial Arts/MMA legend had to say about Valentina Shevchenko ahead of her UFC title defence at UFC 275.

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Speaking on The Fighter vs. The Writer, retired MMA fighter Paul Felder discussed the 115-pound Champion ahead of her defence in Singapore.

He said: “She’s level above [everybody else]. It takes years to close those gaps, maybe to let the titleholder age a little bit, or maybe get a little complacent. She’s not right now.

“She’s one of those women who doesn’t do anything crazy. She doesn’t have some crazy family. She travels. She like drinks tea and she beats women’s asses. That’s what she does, and she shoots guns.

“I don’t see her going anywhere either. Now again, we could be eating our own words when she fights, but if we’re talking [somebody beating Shevchenko] this year, not yet.

“Manon [Fiorot], I thought she was really good, too, but she’s not ready. I saw that last fight and I thought she was throwing too many of the same combos over and over again. 

“You do that against Shevchenko and you’re just going to get knocked out. Even as powerful as you are, however good your karate is, you go out and throw [that same combination], or what power is behind it, she’s going to figure that out and smoke you.