In Photos: UFC’s Valentina Shevchenko shares glimpses from her vintage 2-decade reign as a combat-sports champion

Valentina Shevchenko recently recaptured the UFC women's flyweight championship with a unanimous decision win over Alexa Grasso. She returned to winning ways following a submission loss and draw against Grasso in 2023 to seemingly close out the chapter of their rivalry in the co-main event of Noche UFC 306.

Shevchenko is widely regarded as one of the most versatile athletes in combat sports and has collectively won more than 90 amateur/pro matches in K-1 between 2003 and 2015. She also claimed gold at the World Combat Games in 2010 and 2013.

'Bullet' holds a second Dan black belt in Taekwondo, a black belt in Judo, and is a Master of Sports in boxing and kickboxing. She holds a 57-3 record in kickboxing while also rattling off two victories in the professional boxing realm.

The reigning UFC flyweight champion's resume stands as the very definition of a true martial artist's commitment to excellence. Elated to have recaptured the flyweight throne, which she previously defended a record seven times between December 2018 and June 2022, Shevchenko took to Instagram to share glimpses of her journey through martial arts and several victorious moments. She captioned the post:

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"From year 2003 I become World #MMA Champion for the first time. 21 years later, still on top of the world."

Check out the post and the pictures below:

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Valentina Shevchenko shares pictures of her MMA journey [Images courtesy: @bulletvalentina on Instagram]

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Valentina Shevchenko criticizes ESPN for allegedly showing favoritism towards Alexa Grasso

Valentina Shevchenko had a chip on her shoulder going into the third fight against Alexa Grasso at Noche UFC 306. 'Bullet' hadn't lost a fight in over four years and dominated almost every fight during her reign as the flyweight queen.

She recaptured the women's 125-pound championship in the third fight against Grasso. Leading up to the clash, she claimed that she won the rematch in Sept. 2023 and that the trilogy fight wouldn't have taken place if the judges had scored the fight correctly.

Shevchenko also criticized ESPN for seemingly favoring Grasso in the pre-fight buildup. Speaking at the post-fight press conference, she said:

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“I feel like ESPN was showing so much [of Grasso's moments]. Even in the second fight with Alexa, so every time [they showed] the moment when she’s winning or she’s doing good combinations. And my combinations, they just ignored. But I won the fight, but they just ignored. All the people had this feeling that she won the fight, and it was a draw. I felt it was unfair a little bit, and now there is no way for them to show these clips. It’s going to do right and show the right clips now.”

Catch Shevchenko's comments below (9:45):

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