Valentina Shevchenko believes she’s dwelling in the very best time to be a martial artist.
When the UFC first got here on the scene in 1993, athletes have been typically characterised by their particular abilities. For some, it was Sumo. For others, it was boxing, fight sambo, or jiu-jitsu. Hell, even legendary brawler David ‘Tank’ Abbott described his type as pitfighting whereas competing contained in the Octagon.
However as we speak, MMA encompasses all of these types, to some extent, and Shevchenko thinks that’s fairly rattling cool.
“You realize, we’re now dwelling a dream of some nice individuals, nice athletes, who have been dreaming a couple of common martial artist—that might be, like, comprise all methods, and the fighter can be so common and wouldn’t have any downside to make use of any approach they need,” Shevchenko stated throughout Wednesday’s UFC 322 media day in New York.
“Now, each fighter who fights in MMA is a common fighter, and we are able to select what tactic or approach to make use of. We don’t have an issue to struggle with kicks, we don’t have an issue to struggle with fingers. MMA fighter needs to be the proper fighter: kicking, hanging, grapple, wrestling, the whole lot. That is the perfect dream of anybody…
“Fashionable fighters, they don’t have to begin with some martial arts after which be part of one other; they already began to coach MMA. It’s a brief, quick technique to grow to be a celebrity in precisely MMA as a mode, and I’m very pleased that I’m dwelling on the proper time, in the precise place, and I can present my abilities that I developed throughout all 32 years of working towards martial arts. That is what I name the artwork and the fantastic thing about combating.”
In the case of ladies in blended martial arts, it’s arduous to think about anybody else being on the prime of the all-time listing aside from Shevchenko.
Now a two-time flyweight world champion, ‘Bullet’ will put her gold up for grabs in opposition to one other former two-time titleholder, Zhang Weili, at UFC 322 — a contest Daniel Cormier is already touting because the “biggest feminine struggle of all time.”
Zhang vacated her strawweight strap earlier this 12 months, particularly to maneuver up from 115 and problem Shevchenko for her 125-pound crown.
General, ‘Magnum’ is 10-2 underneath the UFC banner, her solely losses coming in opposition to ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas. Since then, she’s received fights in a row, together with back-to-back second-round finishes in opposition to Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Carla Esparza.
