MANILA, Philippines – “I know what to do in order to get the best performance to win,” said reigning UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko during a press conference for Southeast Asian media Thursday.
Shevchenko will be going up against Brazilian challenger Taila Santos (19-1-0; 4-1 in the UFC) in UFC 275 on June 12 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The main event will be a battle in the UFC’s heavyweight division where champion Glover Teixeira faces off against Czech dynamo Jiri Prochazka.
This will be the first big numbered UFC event in Southeast Asia.
Shevchenko (22-3-0; 11-2 in the UFC) has successfully defended the women’s flyweight title six times since winning it against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in December of 2018.
Santos, on the other hand, is on a four-match win streak.
While English isn’t the native language of the Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian Shevchenko, hence, perhaps groping for the right words. She nevertheless displayed the confidence of a champion.
After Santos said that she is confident that she can win the fight if it goes to the canvas, a smirking Shevchenko was asked her riposte.
“I think she is a very strong fighter,” she said of Santos. “She has a lot of power. I respect all my opponents and I do not underestimate their skills. But I look to their weak sides.”
“Many people say that they have better striking or wrestling but they are wrong,” emphasized the women’s champion. “I see frustration on their face that they are not better. To be a MMA champion it requires a lot of skills.”
While Shevchenko is primarily a kickboxer, she is also a highly skilled grappler who can submit opponents as she demonstrated in wins over Holly Holm, Jessica Andrade, Julianna Peña and Priscilla Cachoeira.
For her part, Santos remained cool and simply said that matters will be settled inside the famous UFC octagon.
UFC 275 will be shown live in the Philippines over the Premier Sports channel on Skycable and Cignal as well as on the TapGo streaming application.