5 reasons why the UFC should not book a third fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko
After her win over Lauren Murphy at UFC 266, many fans are now wondering what’s next for UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. After all, ‘Bullet’ has all but cleaned out her division.
Many fans have suggested that a superfight with current UFC featherweight and bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes should be next for Valentina Shevchenko, but would this be a good idea?
6️⃣th title defense in the books for @BulletValentina ✅
[ #UFC266 | TUNE IN NOW | Live on ESPN+ PPV: bit.ly/2UIiprt ] https://t.co/Y6YHlpAflm
It’s easy to see why the UFC would be tempted to book the fight. After all, neither woman has many viable challengers left in their respective divisions. However, the truth is that to make this fight right now would be a mistake on a number of levels.
With that in mind, here are five reasons why the UFC should not book a third fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko.
#5. The UFC should not look to tie up three divisions with one fight
Perhaps the biggest reason for the UFC to avoid booking a third fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko is that in doing so, they would essentially tie up the title picture in three separate divisions.
Unless the UFC could get the fight done in early 2022 at the latest, then essentially, the promotion’s flyweight contenders in particular would simply have nothing to aim for in the short term.
And given that Nunes is set to defend her UFC bantamweight title against Julianna Pena at UFC 269 in December and has been taking longer layoffs between fights than ever before, then realistically, it could be a year before a prospective Nunes/Shevchenko clash might happen.
Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena rescheduled for UFC 269 (@AlexanderKLee) mmafighting.com/2021/8/30/2264… https://t.co/r4vdvV6P2T
Put simply, that feels hugely unfair to contenders who are still looking to work their way up to challenge one of these two legendary champions. Bantamweight prospect Aspen Ladd, for instance, is set to face off with Macy Chiasson this weekend. If she wins, then she’s probably done enough to earn a shot against Nunes. Would it really be fair to then leave her on the shelf or force her to fight again in the interim while we wait for Nunes vs. Shevchenko?
Add in the fact that the UFC needs as many of its champions as possible to be active to provide viable headline fights for its myriad number of cards right now, and it makes no sense to tie up three divisions with one bout.