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UFC 266 Fallout: What's Next For Valentina Shevchenko?

     I think we are all running out of ways to describe Valentina Shevchenko and her dominance over the UFC's women's flyweight division. The Bullet was able to successfully defend her flyweight championship yet again in a TKO victory over Lauren Murphy in the co-main event at UFC 266 this past Saturday. I could go into detail about the strength, quickness, and technique Shevchenko displayed in both the striking and grappling, but this isn't really anything new to those who have seen her fight before. Valentina was able to render Murphy almost stationary and defenseless as she was virtually unable to get any of her own offense going while taking damage until she was hurt by a Shevchenko right hook and subsequently finished by ground and pound. This was by no means a reflection of how Murphy had fought coming into the night, having won 5 fights in a row, but as many others before her, she was simply no match for The Bullet. With her reign of domination extended by at least one more fight, we are left to wonder who the next woman will be to challenge Valentina for her flyweight title.

    As has become seemingly customary after every Shevchenko win, fans and some media alike almost immediately began clamoring for the trilogy fight with Amanda Nunes. I personally have mixed feelings with this fight which I will attempt to outline. The reasons why so many want to see this fight is pretty obvious. Nunes and Shevchenko are the two best women fighters in the UFC and dominate all of their competition except when they fight each other. While Nunes has won the first two contests between them (Shevchenko's only losses in the UFC), the second contest was a razor thin split decision with many believing Shevchenko had won. From a pure competition perspective, Nunes vs Shevchenko III seems like the only fight that presents a challenge for both The Bullet and The Lioness. With all of that said, how could someone not want that fight? Well, I think my main issue with it is that it almost ties Shevchenko's value to fighting Amanda Nunes, almost implying that no one wants to watch her in other contexts. I think people have almost become desensitized to her greatness due to the fact that she outclasses the rest of her opponents by such a wide margin that it has led to some questioning the talent of the rest of the division instead of just recognizing Shevchenko's dominance. Part of me just wants to see Valentina build her own legacy apart from Nunes and just be the best women's flyweight ever. I would compare this to how Khabib cemented his legacy at lightweight and never tried to go up to welterweight and fight Tyron Woodley or Kamaru Usman.

    Whether she really needs the trilogy vs Nunes or not doesn't really matter because I think we all know that it will happen at some point, and I kind of believe that it will be sooner rather than later. However, if Nunes isn't next, then there has to be someone who is. The general consensus in the public seems to be that the winner of Joanne Calderwood vs Alexa Grasso in November would be the next contender for Shevchenko's belt. Calderwood has been up and down of late, alternating wins and losses over her last 6 fights with her last being a loss to Lauren Murphy. Grasso on the other hand is 2-0 since making the switch to flyweight including an impressive victory over Macey Barber in her last appearance. I would be lying if I said that either of these matchups for Shevchenko really excited me, but at the same time I think all of the other potential matchups excite me even less. Shevchenko has already defeated the top 4 in the rankings (Jessica Andrade, Katlyn Chookagian, Lauren Murphy, and Jennifer Maia) and number 5 is Cynthia Calvillo who lost to Andrade to open UFC 266's main card. That brings us to the number 6 spot that is currently held by Calderwood (which would likely be taken by Grasso should she defeat Calderwood). 

    Given the timeline's for a Nunes trilogy or a fresh matchup with Grasso or Calderwood, it seems like Shevchenko may be due for a little bit of a longer layoff as Grasso vs Calderwood is in November and Nunes vs Julianna Pena is in December. Even if Shevchenko wanted to get back in the octagon come December, I'm just not sure there's anyone to match her up with. If left up to me? Assuming that Nunes is successful in defending her bantamweight title against Pena, I think I would do the trilogy next. I think Nunes is getting closer to retirement as fresh challenges for her are growing thin at both bantamweight and featherweight. A Grasso/Calderwood winner is just not quite enough for me to be all that interested in seeing that fight over the trilogy. Julianna Pena could throw a wrench into all of this and defeat Nunes, which would likely cause that rematch to trump a Nunes vs Shevchenko trilogy. What do you guys think? Am I missing anyone or is the trilogy just too obvious at this point? Thanks for reading and let me know in the comments.

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