Valentine Shevchenko is preparing to challenge UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes for the gold in the main event of UFC 213.
In her second bout against Nunes, the challenger vows that she is going to get the finish against the champion.
“It’s very sad that I could not finish that time because of time,” Shevchenko said at a UFC 213 media event. “Maybe one minute more, it would be different. But I’m pretty sure this time I will finish her as soon as I can.”
Nunes won the initial meeting between the two by decision at UFC 196 and neither fighter has suffered a defeat since their first encounter.
Shevchenko isn’t worried about the trash talk being delivered by the champion because she has dealt with all of that before.
“If I don’t say nothing bad about my opponent, it doesn't mean that my opponents never say it,” Shevchenko said. “Because I had that experience when Julianna Peña was talking some kinds of the same things. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter for me nothing. Because really the one thing that matters is fight. And when the door is closed, no one will help her.”
UFC 213 takes place on Saturday, July 8 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
