5 ONE Championship fighters who match well against Valentina Shevchenko
ONE Championship might have the answer to the labyrinthine puzzle that is Valentina 'Bullet' Shevchenko. The dominant UFC flyweight queen has utterly decimated her weight class without much resistance from her opponents.
The Kyrgyzstani champion's precision and mastery of distance are unmatched in the flyweight ranks of the UFC. When the fight gets to the ground, the former kickboxing champion out-grapples even the most seasoned of ground specialists.
Since her near-assassination of Lauren Murphy, Shevchenko has either stopped or dominated 4 of the top 5 women in her weight division. Simply put, there's nothing left to do for the champion other than to move back up to bantamweight. In that weight class, Shevchenko can rematch her rival and fellow MMA great Amanda 'The Lioness' Nunes for the title.
If the quadri-lingual champion doesn't move up in weight, the resounding question now is, who's next? Enter ONE Championship. The Singapore-based promotion houses 115-pound and 125-pound female weight classes and there are plenty of challenges present for the UFC queen.
It's often said in the fight business that 'styles make fights'. The stylistic diversity present on ONE Championship's roster poses interesting match-ups for Shevchenko. That being said, we've listed down five potential ONE Championship match-ups for the UFC flyweight champ.
#5. ONE Championship atomweight kickboxing champion Janet 'JT' Todd
What separates ONE Championship from other organizations is that it doesn't just feature MMA. With the inception of ONE Super Series, ONE Championship now features the best in kickboxing and Muay Thai around the world.
If Shevchenko decides to go back to her kickboxing roots, there's no better match for her than ONE Championship kickboxing queen Janet 'JT' Todd. The American's stance, speed, and technical precision is highly similar to Shevchenko's.
We haven't seen 'Bullet' compete in kickboxing or Muay Thai in a while. It would be interesting to see her fight again in the sport that kicked off her martial arts journey.
Against Todd, Shevchenko has to be ready for the ONE Champion's crazy kicking range. Todd can deliver kicks to the legs, body, and head from any distance she chooses. The American's ability to land a head kick from close range makes her a very unpredictable puzzle to solve.
Check out Todd's knockout reel in this video: