Current UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko became the UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion on December 8, 2018. She defeated Joanna Jędrzejczyk by unanimous decision at UFC 231 to claim the vacant title.
A Short History of the UFC Women’s Flyweight Division
The UFC Women’s Flyweight Division is the newest addition to the promotion, introduced at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale in December 2017. As with the Women’s Strawweight Division in 2014, the UFC organized an all-female Ultimate Fighter season to crown the division’s first champion.
The division has had just two champions – Nicco Montano and Valentina Shevchenko. Montano won The Ultimate Fighter but never defended her belt due to weight-cutting issues on the eve of her first defence against Shevchenko at UFC 228. She was stripped by the UFC in September 2018.
Shevchenko fought former Strawweight Champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk for the vacant strap at UFC 231, earning a unanimous decision victory to become the division’s second champion. Shevchenko has grown into one of the most dominant champions in UFC history, defending her title six times and rarely looking troubled.
She most recently defended her belt for the sixth time against Lauren Murphy at UFC 266. Shevchenko dominated every round and finished Murphy by TKO in Round 4.
Complete History of the UFC Women’s Flyweight Division
The Ultimate Fighter Season 26
The UFC Women’s Flyweight Division was introduced to the promotion in December 2017 through its reality show The Ultimate Fighter. The UFC had enjoyed success with its Ultimate Fighter Season 20 show featuring all-female Strawweight contestants and went down the same route with its upcoming Women’s Flyweight Division.
The season, featuring coaches Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje, saw Nicco Montano and Sijara Eubanks advance to the final, which would go down at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale on December 1st, 2017. However, Eubanks experienced kidney failure during her weight cut and was replaced on short notice by semi-finalist Roxanne Modafferi.
Montano dominated the fight, landing 186 significant strikes and clocking in over 6 minutes of control time over five rounds. However, her time in the UFC would prove ignominious after multiple failed weight cuts, a doping violation and sheer bad luck.
Montano was set to defend her title against elite Muay Thai and kickboxer Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228. However, she was rushed to hospital while cutting weight and forced out of the fight. Montano was also flagged by USADA for a doping violation two months later, incurring a six-month suspension.
Throughout her UFC career, Montano was plagued by weight-cutting problems and misfortune. After losing to Julianna Pena in July 2019, Montana pulled out of multiple fights and never fought in the UFC again. She was released in August 2021 after missing weight by seven pounds for a fight against Wu Yanan.
Valentina “The Bullet” Shevchenko
Nicco Montano’s first title defence was scheduled against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228. The fight was scrapped after Montano was rushed to the hospital due to an adverse weight cut.
The UFC set up a title fight between Shevchenko and Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 231. The two had met three times during their kickboxing careers, with Shevchenko winning each time. Their fourth meeting was no different, with Shevchenko securing a dominant 49-46 decision victory to claim the belt.
Shevchenko’s first defence was against Jessica Eye at UFC 238. After battering her opponent over the first round, Shevchenko landed a brutal head kick early in the second round to knock Eye out cold. Going into the fight, Shevchenko was a -1250 favorite and has been given similarly short odds for most of her title defences.
Next up for Shevchenko was veteran Liz Carmouche at UFC Fight Night 56. The two had fought almost a decade prior, with Carmouche handing Shevchenko her first professional MMA loss via TKO. Now a much-improved fighter, Shevchenko won the fight 50-45 on all three scorecards and defended her belt for the second time.
A dominant champion
With six successful title defences and a 59-2 professional kickboxing career, Valentina Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest female martial artists in history. She has proven one of the UFC’s most indomitable champions, rivaled only by Amanda Nunes amongst female fighters.
Shevchenko’s third title defence came against Kaitlyn Chookagian at UFC 247. After winning the first two rounds, Valentina trapped Chookagian in a crucifix and rained down strikes to win by TKO.
Jennifer Maia rebounded from her defeat against Chookagian to submit Joanne Calderwood and earn a title shot against Shevchenko at UFC 255. Despite a promising second round for Maia, Shevchenko controlled most of the fight and won by unanimous decision.
The champion would face former Strawweight champion Jessica Andrade next at UFC 261. Andrade came up a weight class and was given a much better shot by the bookies (+350) than previous contenders. However, Shevchenko proved too much for Andrade, landing multiple takedowns before finishing the fight in the crucifix position (TKO via elbows in Round 2).
Shevchenko defended her belt for the sixth time against Lauren Murphy, who was riding a five-fight win streak. Despite a game performance from Murphy, Shevchenko outclassed her in every department, eventually finishing her via strikes on the ground. Valentina tied Ronda Rousey’s record of six title defences and looks likely to beat the record soon enough.
UFC Women’s Flyweight Rankings
Fighter | Pro Record | Last 5 | Next fight | |
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C | Valentina "Bullet" Shevchenko | 23-3 |
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Alexa Grasso (2023-03-04)
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1 | Jéssica "Bate Estaca" Andrade | 24-9 |
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-
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2 | Katlyn "Blonde Fighter" Chookagian | 18-5 |
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-
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3 | "Lucky" Lauren Murphy | 16-6 |
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-
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4 | Jennifer Maia | 20-9-1 |
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Casey O'Neill (2023-03-18)
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5 | Taila Santos | 19-2 |
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Erin Blanchfield (2023-02-18)
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6 | Viviane "Vivi" Araujo | 11-4 |
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Amanda Ribas (2023-03-04)
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7 | "JoJo" Joanne Calderwood | 15-8 |
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Luana Carolina (2023-03-18)
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8 | Andrea "KGB" Lee | 13-6 |
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Maycee Barber (2023-03-25)
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9 | Jessica "Evil" Eye | 15-11-1 NC |
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-
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10 | Cynthia Calvillo | 9-5-1 |
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Lupita Godinez (2023-04-08)
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11 | Alexa Grasso | 15-3 |
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Valentina Shevchenko (2023-03-04)
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12 | Roxanne "The Happy Warrior" Modafferi | 25-20 |
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-
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13 | Maycee "The Future" Barber | 11-2 |
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Andrea Lee (2023-03-25)
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14 | Manon "The Beast" Fiorot | 10-1 |
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-
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15 | "King" Casey O'Neill | 9-0 |
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Jennifer Maia (2023-03-18)
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