"She lost to someone who quit" - Ali Abdelaziz believes Kayla Harrison should be above Valentina Shevchenko on women's P4P list
Ali Abdelaziz believes it shouldn't be UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko at the top of the pound-for-pound (P4P) rankings, but rather his client Kayla Harrison.
Shevchenko replaced featherweight titleholder Amanda Nunes at the top of the UFC women's P4P list following the Brazilian's loss to Julianna Pena at UFC 269. Nunes is considered the WGOAT (women's greatest of all time) of MMA by several fans and pundits, and is a former bantamweight champion.
During a recent conversation with Yahoo Sports, Abdelaziz disagreed with the interviewer and argued when he said that 'Bullet' is ahead of Harrison in his pound-for-pound rankings.
"We tried to beat Amanda Nunes but Nunes quit in a fight. Dana promoted her that she was going to beat up guys and no one can stop her. But she lost to Julianna Pena, who got choked out by Germaine de Randamie three fights ago. You know what I am saying like how many fights has Valentina Shevchenko lost? She lost to someone who quit. I love Valentina and I think she is amazing. But if you have Valentina and Kayla fight, who's gonna win? ...Valentina fought Amanda Nunes and Nunes is the GOAT, right? It is all relative. Nobody dominates people like Kayla does," said Abdelaziz.
Watch Ali Abdelaziz in conversation with renowned combat sports journalist Kevin Iole below:
Meanwhile, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison are no longer teammates after the Brazilian decided to leave American Top Team.
This could be the perfect opportunity to book Nunes vs. Harrison, possibly for the UFC featherweight belt. However, the two-time Olympic gold medallist is close to re-signing a new deal with the Professional Fighters League.
It's been five years since Valentina Shevchenko and Julianna Pena fought in the UFC
Valentina Shevchenko's rematch with Amanda Nunes was sealed with her victory over current UFC women's bantamweight champ Julianna Pena at UFC on Fox 23 in January 2017.
Shevchenko defeated Pena via submission using an armbar at a time of 4:29 in the second round of the main event.
Here's the official fight card and poster for UFC on Fox: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Julianna Pena:
Five years ago today-
UFC on Fox: Shevchenko vs. Peña https://t.co/iKBjQC1Py3
Since claiming the title from Nunes last month, Pena has expressed interest in fighting Shevchenko again.
This could be another interesting matchup in 2022. But Pena vs. Nunes 2 and another flyweight title defense for Shevchenko, possibly against No.5-ranked Taila Santos, are expected to happen first.