"She kicked me and broke two ribs" - Halle Berry reveals Valentina Shevchenko injured her by accident during shooting of 'Bruised'
After ruling the UFC women's flyweight division for three years, Valentina Shevchenko is cracking into Hollywood. She is starring opposite Halle Berry in the mixed martial arts movie 'Bruised'.
'Bullet' not only stars in the movie alongside Berry, but has also helped with the technical aspect of the fight scenes to make the shots as realistic as possible. During the shooting of one such scene, Valentina Shevchenko accidentally broke two of Halle Berry's ribs. The actress revealed as much during a virtual appearance on The Graham Norton Show:
"Day two into the five-day fight (sequence), she [Valentina Shevchenko] kicked me and broke two ribs..." Halle Berry said.
However, the Academy Award-winning actress kept the severity of her injury a secret from the production to avoid any delay in shooting. 'Bruised', which is set to release on Netflix on November 24, is also Berry's directorial debut:
"I knew that if I told anyone and told the insurance that I had broken two ribs, they would have shot me down and I knew that I might never get back to this movie, again. And I put too much into it, I worked too hard, I had come too far, I had fought too hard. The funny thing happened. Because I had been training to be a fighter for two and a half years, I think the fighter side of my training took over; and as all fighters, when you are in the ring, if you get injured, stopping isn't an option. You just keep going, you just have to keep going. So I made the decision of not telling anybody," Halle Berry shared with Graham Norton and the guests.
Halle Berry oversees UFC 268 ceremonial face-offs
The veteran actress was present at the UFC 268 ceremonial face-offs on Thursday to promote her movie.
Walking into UFC 268 weekend like… @YungMiami305 @ThegirlJT https://t.co/q51EdKJa98
She did the honors of overseeing the staredown between women's strawweight titleholder Rose Namajunas and former champion Zhang Weili.
Set to put on a SHOW in the City that Never Sleeps 🍿
🌹 @RoseNamajunas vs 🇨🇳 Zhang Weili
[ #UFC268 | Tomorrow | Live on ESPN+ PPV: ufc.ac/3pxVxYV ] https://t.co/7OQBMAgh0X
Halle Berry later spoke to ESPN about her experience overseeing a face-off between two real fighters:
"I've always wanted to do that. It is intense... I love this game, I love these fighters. It's amazing," Halle Berry stated.
She also said that the only fighter she would 'undisputedly' root for is Valentina Shevchenko.
You can watch the interview here:
Watch the trailer of the movie 'Bruised' below: