"She feels she was beaten by a smaller girl" - Valentina Shevchenko claims Amanda Nunes believes she actually lost in their rematch
Valentina Shevchenko doesn't think Amanda Nunes wants to step inside the octagon with her for the third time. According to 'Bullet', Nunes knows that she was lucky to get away with a win in their rematch at UFC 215.
In a recent interaction with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Valentina Shevchenko explained why she thinks Amanda Nunes doesn't want to fight her again. The dominant flyweight champ believes that Nunes feels she was beaten by a "girl from a smaller weight class" in their rematch. She also suggested that Nunes was "gifted" the win by the judges in their 2017 clash.
"I kind of feel that she kind of like, doesn't want this fight to happen because inside of herself she feels that she was gifted the victory from our second fight. Gifted by judges and she feels she was beaten by a smaller girl from a smaller weight class and she is a bigger girl and it's kind of like, a pressure, sort of, from inside and that's why she's like 'Ahh, I [already] beat her twice' but it's kind of like disguise or camouflage of what she's feeling in reality. And definitely, if you were beaten by someone smaller than you, it would affect you. That's why I feel she's kind of like 'I don't want this fight happening'"
Catch Valentina Shevchenko's appearance on The MMA Hour below:
.@bulletvalentina says that Amanda Nunes knows she was "gifted the victory' from their last fight:
"She feels that she was beaten by a smaller girl from a smaller weight class." 👀
▶️ Watch full interview from #TheMMAHour: youtu.be/N5q1Ot5ozgg https://t.co/D9hhzXq0Gc
Dana White open to booking trilogy fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko
Following her dominant win over Lauren Murphy at UFC 266, speculation of a trilogy fight between Shevchenko and Nunes started doing the rounds. The pair have shared the octagon twice in the past, with the Brazilian picking up the win on both occasions.
Heading into last weekend's pay-per-view, Dana White acknowledged the possibility of booking a third fight between two of the most dominant champions in UFC history.
Dude, just book Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3 and quit playing. #UFC266
"So if she [Valentina] wins and Amanda beats Peña and they're both into it, I'm interested in talking about it. When somebody is as dominant as these two are, that's what you always say but there's always going to be a challenger."
Catch White's comments during an interview with TSN below: