UFC 261: Valentina Shevchenko vows to finish Jessica Andrade – ‘I will go for dominance’
- Kyrgyzstani ‘Bullet’ aims to rule her division ‘for a long time’ with Andrade latest pretender to the throne
- Shevchenko coy on facing Lauren Murphy or Joanna Calderwood next but says ‘I’m gonna keep fighting whoever is in front of me’
Jessica Andrade may intend to show “no respect” inside the Octagon to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 261, but the flyweight champ is promising another dominant display in front of 15,000 fans in Jacksonville, Florida.
Kyrgyzstani 33-year-old Shevchenko (20-3) has stood tall going 6-0 since dropping down from the 135-pound bantamweight class, quickly amassing four title defences in two years.
Brazil’s Andrade (21-8) is the second former strawweight title-holder Shevchenko has fought – the first being old Muay Thai rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk whom she defeated to win the flyweight crown.
“Totally different power, totally different feeling, and yeah, having respect is good. But you know, I will go for dominance in this fight because this is my mindset. I was training for this all the time so I know for sure I will see the hole when I can finish the fight, definitely I will do it.”
“Bullet” Shevchenko has won three of her past six bouts via knockout or TKO, with Andrade stopping former challenger Katlyn Chookagian (15-4) in the first round last October, following back-to-back defeats by Rose Namajunas (split decision) and Zhang Weili in a 42-second TKO where the Brazilian surrendered the 115-pound title in Shenzhen.
