What is the likelihood that we see Valentina Shevchenko vs Zhang Weili in 2021?

For UFC women's Flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, it is becoming harder and harder to find competitive matchups in her division. Her dominance is so great that people begin to lose their minds at the prospect of her losing her a round, myself included! Her last fight against Jennifer Maia in which she we went on to earn a dominant unanimous decision victory, Shevchenko struggled through the first two rounds with Maia's aggressive wrestling and clinch work proving so effective that the champion even lost the second round, leaving fans reeling at the idea that she might have her work cut out to get the win. However, like always, Valentina just went up a gear and in the end made the fight look relatively easy, a testament to just how amazing a fighter she is. 

So where does she go from here? The logical fight in her division next is with former Strawweight champion Jessica Andrade who recently beat former number one contender Katelyn Chookagian decisively at UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs The Korean Zombie. Andrade's aggressive front foot brawling style could pose a problem for the champion but the Brazilian fighter showed in both fights with Rose Namajunas that she is very hittable, something you cannot be with a sniper like Shevchenko stood across from you. Should Valentina come out of this fight unscathed, it is difficult to see who else their is at Flyweight that would pose any sort of threat to her throne.

Many have called for a trilogy fight with the female GOAT and current Bantamweight and Featherweight world champion Amanda Nunes. Nunes holds two victories over Shevchenko however many believe that the Kyrgyzstani fighter deserved the decision in the second fight. Nunes also finds her self in the position of lacking challengers in both divisions she reigns supreme over. Her scheduled Featherweight defence against Megan Anderson at UFC 256 was unfortunately cancelled and will no doubt be rebooked in the new year but even after that if we look through the rankings there are very few tests available for Nunes that she hasn't already passed with flying colours. Furthermore Nunes does not seem interested in the trilogy, with Dana White also stating he doesn't expect the fight to happen anytime soon.

Valentina's next best hope of a superfight now lies with Strawweight champion Zhang Weili. Since she ripped the belt away from Jessica Andrade in emphatic fashion, Weili has had a fight of the year contender with former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and is now slated to return against Rose Namajunas in the new year, as confirmed by Dana White in an interview with Kevin Iole:

"She'll be coming back in early 2021. (Asked if Rose would be her opponent) Yeah, we hope so."

Unlike Shevchenko, Weili is not bereft of challengers. If she comes through her fight with Namajunas victorious, the rematch against Jedrzejczyk is one that fans will be clamouring for given that their first fight is without a doubt one of the greatest title fights ever. Then you have the potential of an all Chinese matchup between Weili and #3 ranked Strawweight Yan Xiaonan, which would be an enormous boost for the UFC, especially after the success of previous events in China. 

The next question is what weight class would a potential bout between Weili and Shevchenko take place at? 

My guess would be that Weili would be the one to move up because Shevchenko would represent the A-side and already has a tough weight cut to Flyweight, so the drop to Strawweight would be too compromising for her. Weili in my opinion would look comfortable at Flyweight and would not struggle to cut the weight as she is already a very muscular athlete and big for a Strawweight. 

Shevchenko stated back in September after Weili's victory over Andrade that she was not a fan of how the new champion was fast tracked to her title shot at Strawweight and was insistent that the same would not happen at Flyweight should she choose to move and challenge for the belt. Shevchenko called on the champion to prove herself in more than one title defence before she thinks about challenging at Flyweight, and another victory over a former champion could be the perfect message to send in order to secure he shot at Flyweight gold.

I am hoping that we are able to see these two female powerhouses face off most likely towards the end of 2021, and there will no doubt be fireworks if they do!

~ James Eakin

Image credits: [Centre] "Valentina Shevchenko sets the standard", Zac Pacleb. Available at: https://www.ufc.com/news/valentina-shevchenko-sets-standard-ufc-255-read [Accessed Nov '20].

Kevin Iole quote available at: https://www.essentiallysports.com/mma-ufc-news-dana-white-says-weili-zhang-will-fight-rose-namajunas-next-reveals-potential-date/ [Accessed Nov '20].