Born to fight: Valentina Shevchenko, the UFC champion who broke two of Halle Berry’s ribs

To the MMA fighter and UFC flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko (34), martial arts are not just another discipline. They are his lifestyle: he has been practicing them since he was five years old.

In fact, she does so together with her sister Antonina and under the influence of her mother, a taekwondo player and president of the Kyrgyzstan Mujer Thai Federation. Born in that country, Valentina has forged a career alongside her coach, Pavel Fedotov. All this is enough to justify the title of this letter: born to fight… Literally. But there’s more.

next Saturday in the evening of UFC 285 he will defend his corporate belt against the Mexican Alexa Grasso.

With a record of 23-3, she is also a multiple world champion in muay thai, K1 and kickboxing and other MMA championships in Korea. During her time in the UFC, she only lost to Amanda Nunes twice, defeats by unanimous decision and split in a rematch, a decision that many have found controversial.

In his career he has not stopped pressing on the accelerator. At just 12, she knocked out a 22-year-old opponent, which inspired her teacher to nickname her “Bullet” (bullet), for being fast and deadly. She was recently chosen as the best female fighter of 2022 by the awards MMA world awards.

Valentina has lived in Peru for eight years since 2009, from where she has traveled throughout Latin America and has been fascinated by the Latinos’ customs and way of being. She became a Peruvian citizen and competed extensively for that country in various disciplines.

exclusively with clarion Before defending her title for the eighth time on a historic card, Valentina was warm, smiling and delighted at the chance to speak to the press. The humility of a grown-up still enthusiastic about throwing punches, like when she was five years old.

The importance of “balance”

– Did you imagine a race like this?

– I’m not someone who imagines a career or what’s to come… I’m taking what is step by step. Goal number one, be a champion. After that, defend the title each time. So the more defenses there are, the better.

– What should you take care of your rival?

– It’s MMA, here you have to take care of everything. But, at the same time, use all the weapons you have to win the fight. In the best way, as simple and as soon as possible.

– You are already one of the best athletes in the world. Isn’t it hard for you to find motivation day after day when you’ve reached so high?

– No. I don’t agree that it’s difficult to keep the motivation, that fire inside you every day. It’s not at all difficult when you love what you do. Martial arts are my way, my lifestyle which I have been doing for 30 years. It’s always a motivation, I like it.

– And you don’t get tired of anything? I mean workout, weight reduction, etc.

– It is a balance, the balance that a person can have in his life. There’s time to train, two or three months, there’s time to fight, which is when you give your all and put all your strength forward. But later, when an argument is over… What will you do? There are many things to do. I would like to travel, get to know new countries, new traditions, cultures, people.

I love to go shooting, practice shooting. I love playing the sport of defensive shooting (IDPA – International Defensive Pistol Association). It’s a great sport where you also have to be in good physical condition, but you also work a lot with your emotions, to calm yourself down. The weapon teaches you to respect everything you do, not just the weapon, but in general. A respect for everything.

I also like spending time on boats, sailing and living on them. I can go to the sea for two months and walk among the islands… This too makes me happy and, at the same time, teaches me many things. You have to know the wind, the currents of the sea, how to get in and out of the marina… These things are what you add to your way of being. It’s a balance, a balance. If a person can find that in life, then nothing is dull or dull, because you feel that change from one to another, like a dance.

– You also practiced dance: did it help you as a martial artist?

– Yes too. I can’t say that it helped me much in martial arts, because they are different (laughs). But it also helped strike that balance. Dancing is good… You have to have good control of your body.

– How do you analyze the moment of MMA and UFC?

– MMA is now the number one sport and the UFC is the biggest and strongest organization in the world. So, that says it all. In the modern world, being the number one contact sport… Needless to say more.

– It’s no coincidence what you are, since you’ve been training hard since you were five years old. Do you think you have a natural talent or is it due to work?

– I think it’s a combination. No talented person can go far without discipline and work. At the beginning we see that everything is easy, everything goes well. But if you want to reach the top, you have to put in a lot of discipline and work. Similarly, even a less talented person with discipline and work can go far.

– Is Latin America very different from Kyrgyzstan?

– Yes, it’s very different, of course. Latin America has a way of life, people… In Asia it is completely different with its traditions. But that’s the magic. You get to see different cultures and take from each what feels best to you. I loved the time we were in Latin America. We lived in Peru, but traveled all over the world. Several times in Argentina where in Córdoba we have good friends who are also fighters. We were in Buenos Aires, of course. In Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador… we compete in all these countries. It’s excellent, I really like getting to know different countries and cultures.

– Since you called Córdoba, I think you know Martín “Escopeta” Gil, who was in Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand.

– Yes, Martín trained with my coach and traveled when we lived in the Amazon. We had a field and our Pavel (his coach) called him and told him to come train with us. He trained for a few months and became an excellent fighter. He then traveled to Chile and won a world championship with a first-round KO. When he went to Thailand he had a very good career in muay thai, getting many knockouts with his favorite technique: the spinning elbow.

– How was the experience of shooting the film? Do you want to continue acting?

– I’d like to continue filming. I really enjoyed the experience. Halle is an excellent person, we have become friends. Before and after the fights she congratulates me and we are always in touch. I’d like to make more films. It’s really something I want to do in the future.

UFC 285: a special billboard

brings a long-awaited return with great news. After more than three years away from the most famous octagon of MMA due to personal problems and various sanctions, the dominant former light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, returns to fight for a title.

And he will do it in a higher category against the French Ciryl Gane, for the heavyweight belt left vacant by Francis Ngannou, who left the company after failed negotiations for the money from the sack of a possible fight with Jon Jones himself, who at the end never happened. .

“Bones” hasn’t fought since February 2020, when he discreetly beat Dominick Reyes by unanimous decision, which has been one of the most controversial in recent years. He was the youngest UFC champion and defended his belt several times, always successfully.