Jennifer Maia releases statement following loss to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 255

Women’s flyweight contender Jennifer Maia released a statement following her unanimous decision loss to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 255.

Maia proved to be a worthy adversary for the champion as she managed to go the full 25-minute distance against Shevchenko, even taking the second rounds on the judges’ scorecards. Ultimately, though, Maia dropped a 49-46 unanimous decision on all three judges’ scorecards, with Shevchenko once again defending the UFC women’s flyweight title. Win the win, Shevchenko moved to 6-0 at 125lbs, while Maia is 3-3 in the UFC.

Following the loss to Shevchenko, Maia took to her social media to release a statement to her fans. Check out what Maia wrote on her Instagram below.

“It was not this time! Even so, I am proud and I am happy to have arrived here among so many great athletes and to have the honor of this opportunity. I don’t want to prove that I am better than anyone, but that I am better than myself every day. The result does not always come out as we want, but I believe that with each result I learn more. Thank you to all those who cheer with heart and know about our daily battle for a dream, as I always enter representing a whole country with great pride until the end. We continued until we achieved our goals!” Maia wrote in her statement.

Despite dropping the decision to Shevchenko, Maia proved by going the distance that she is a durable, respectable fighter in the UFC women’s flyweight division. Unfortunately, just like a lot of the other contenders in the division, she just ran into a buzzsaw in the form of Shevchenko. Look for Maia to take a few months off as she heals up from this fight and gets ready to return to the Octagon in 2021 and continue another title run at 125.

What do you think is next for Jennifer Maia after losing to Valentina Shevchenko?