"Not to admire, but to destroy" - Valentina Shevchenko explains her killer mindset when analyzing opponents like Taila Santos
UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko has detailed the mindset and approach she takes into fights.
Shevchenko, who extended her title defense record to six in September 2021, appreciates and understands that those who face her deserve it, but her mission is to find holes in their games.
'Bullet' hasn't lost inside the octagon since 2017. In fact, Shevchenko's only two UFC defeats were at the hands of the same person, Amanda Nunes. The 34-year-old also holds the records for most consecutive flyweight wins (8) and the most knockouts (4) in the division.
Speaking to Yahoo! Sports ahead of her UFC 275 title defense against Taila Santos, Shevencko explained how she prepares for fights and analyzes her opponents:
"If they have the opportunity to fight for the the title, if she is here, then she deserves it. She [Santos] showed that in her previous fights she's a tough opponent, a strong opponent with a lot of power. You cannot take it out from her. My goal is not just looking in her fight game, my thing is to see where is the holes and where I can destroy her. Not to admire, but to destroy. When I start to study an opponent, this is what I focus into."
Should Valentina Shevchenko defeat Taila Santos, it would extend her record as champion to seven consecutive flyweight defenses.
For Santos, it is a first chance at UFC gold. While some fans may have already written off the Brazilian, Santos certainly poses a threat to Shevchenko. The 29-year-old has lost just once in her career (19-1) and before making her UFC debut in 2019, she had 11 first-round finishes to her name.
Watch Valentina Shevchenko discuss her upcoming bout with Taila Santos here:
Dana White believes Valentina Shevchenko's dominance makes the division look weaker than it is
Ahead of UFC 275, Dana White appeared on MMA Underground with John Morgan to preview the upcoming event.
The pair discussed Shevchenko, who is looking to extend her record run as the women's flyweight champion. Morgan pointed out that often fans may view the 125-pound division as weaker because of Shevchenko's dominance in the octagon.
Morgan believes that a champion who rules their division so dominantly can sometimes be seen as a negative, meaning fighters are seemingly written off before a fight and the champions aren't given enough credit for what they accomplish in the cage.
Dana White agreed with John Morgan's assessment, saying:
“You’re absolutely right. You’re absolutely dead on. Yeah, what Valentina has accomplished, what Anderson [Silva] did during his reign, the list goes on and on, And that’s exactly what happens. People say the division is weak. No. Valentina Shevchenko is so good, she makes the division look weak.”
Watch Dana White and John Morgan discuss Valentina Shevchenko here: