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Brett Okamoto
NEW YORK — Valentina Shevchenko solidified herself as the No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world Saturday when she defended her 125-pound flyweight championship, winning by a unanimous decision over former strawweight champion Zhang Weili (26-4) in the co-main event of UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden.
Shevchenko (26-4-1) tied fellow legend Amanda Nunes for the most wins in UFC title-fight history with 11.
Saturday’s fight was billed as one of the biggest matchups in women’s MMA history, as Zhang vacated her 115-pound title to move up and challenge Shevchenko in August. The action proved to be very one-sided, however, as Shevchenko won every round on all three judges’ scorecards.
“This is the art of martial arts,” Shevchenko said. “When there is an opponent who is super hard in their weight class against all other opponents, but when they are here, in front of me, they can’t do anything.”
Shevchenko, 37, held a clear advantage in every area of the fight, especially grappling. She repeatedly took down Zhang and controlled her on the floor. Shevchenko neutralized all aspects of Zhang’s offense, expertly dictating distance and timing her takedowns. Most of Shevchenko’s work came on the ground, although she also found success on her feet with kicks to the legs and body.
“I was prepared for the hardest challenge,” Shevchenko said. “I knew I couldn’t exchange with Weili; she has super punching power. That’s why I was working very hard and smart to use distance and wrestling.”
According to UFC Stats, Shevchenko outlanded Zhang in total strikes 137-80 and converted 5 of 6 takedown attempts. She needed only one takedown per round, as Zhang could not work back to her feet. Shevchenko accumulated 13:24 of control time, during which she nearly moved to the crucifix multiple times.
Shevchenko’s immediate future is interesting. Her most likely next challenger at flyweight is Brazilian Natalia Silva (19-5-1), who is coming off a dominant decision over Alexa Grasso in May. Erin Blanchfield, who submitted Tracy Cortez at UFC 322 on Saturday, also has a strong résumé.
Perhaps most intriguing, however, is defending bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, who is expected to defend her title against Nunes in early 2026. Nunes is coming out of retirement in a bid to recapture the belt she vacated in 2023. If Harrison wins, she has already indicated interest in facing Shevchenko next. Shevchenko has competed at bantamweight before and challenged Nunes for the 135-pound belt in 2016.
Zhang, meanwhile, promised to come back strong but would not indicate whether she intends to remain at 125 pounds or return to 115.