When Valentina Shevchenko stepped into Madison Sq. Backyard on November 15 to face Zhang Weili, the stakes couldn’t have been increased. Two champions, two legacies, one query: who owns the crown in girls’s combined martial arts? The UFC girls’s flyweight champion answered with a masterclass that left little question. Shevchenko dismantled the previous strawweight queen throughout 5 rounds, incomes an ideal 50-45 scorecard from all three judges in what grew to become the defining second of her 2025 12 months. It was this dominance at UFC 322 that cemented her standing because the 12 months’s feminine fighter to beat.
LowKick MMA’s 2025 Female Fighter of the Year: Valentina Shevchenko
But the Zhang Weili battle didn’t occur in isolation. Earlier in Might, Shevchenko confronted a stern take a look at towards Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 in Montreal. Fiorot arrived undefeated with a 12-fight profitable streak and the second-ranked place within the division. The narrative urged aggressive territory. As a substitute, Shevchenko managed the motion methodically, touchdown a career-threatening lower on Fiorot’s nostril in spherical one and ending the five-rounder with unanimous nods on the judges’ scorecards. Her counter placing discovered its mark repeatedly, and he or she navigated grappling exchanges with the precision that has outlined her championship reign.
The Zhang efficiency, although, revealed one thing totally different. Zhang got here in as a division champion herself, and her pressure-based aggression introduced a stylistic problem Shevchenko hadn’t confronted at flyweight in current reminiscence. But weight lessons exist for causes, and Shevchenko’s bodily superiority was evident from bell to bell. She clinched early and dumped Zhang repeatedly, accumulating 13 minutes of management time whereas advancing place intelligently towards finishes just like the crucifix. When the battle stayed standing, her distance administration saved Zhang exterior efficient vary, and when the challenger tried entries, spinning again fists caught her cleanly. Physique kicks visibly slowed Zhang’s ahead momentum within the later rounds.
What separates Shevchenko’s 2025 from every other fighter’s 12 months is the standard of opposition and the decisiveness of victory. Fiorot’s 12-fight streak earlier than their assembly meant one thing. Zhang’s credentials as a four-time strawweight title defender meant one thing. Shevchenko beat each with out grievance or drama, counting on method, preparation, and the foundational Muay Thai mastery she’s carried by means of 20 years as a fight athlete. She stays the #1 pound-for-pound feminine fighter on the earth and essentially the most dominant flyweight to ever compete within the sport.
