Valentina Shevchenko: The UFC champion who starred in a Halle Berry movie

When it comes to combat sports, Valentina Shevchenko is up there as one of the most influential female fighters.

The 34-year-old is the current UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion and is number one in the UFC women’s pound-for-pound rankings.

‘Bullet’ is a versatile fighter, having competed in Muay Thai and boxing as well as MMA, but she also boasts some lesser known talents outside of the octagon.

In 2003, Shevchenko broke onto the combat sports scene by making her Muay Thai and kickboxing debuts. She won eight IFMA World Championships over the course of 11 years, including five back-to-back gold medals from 2006 up until 2010.

She is regarded as one of the best female Muay Thai fighters in the world.

Shevchenko also enjoyed a brief stint as a boxer but her time inside the ring came under criticism as she would often use Muay Thai techniques and grappling tactics on her opponents. These occurrences went unpenalised, which caused friction within the women’s boxing space.

During her time as Muay Thai fighter, Shevchenko beat future UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk on three occasions.

Fast forward to 2018 and Shevchenko met with JJ again, this time inside the octagon to compete for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship.

Bullet reflected on her Muay Thai victories over Jędrzejczyk and hoped her experience against the Polish fighter in their earlier days would be beneficial during the title fight.

Sure enough, after a unanimous decision, Shevchenko became the new Women’s Flyweight Champion — a title she has held for more than three years and defended against the likes of Jessica Andrade and Katlyn Chookagian, who are both inside the top ten in the pound-for-pound rankings.

As well as a rich history of success