Valentina Shevchenko isn’t fazed by Zhang Weili’s aura ahead of UFC 322 super fight

Valentina Shevchenko won’t allow herself to get caught up in the mystique of Zhang Weili ahead of UFC 322.

Shevchenko is scheduled to put her UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship on the line against Weili, who vacated the women’s strawweight gold. The super fight will be held inside the famous Madison Square Garden arena in New York City on Nov. 15.

Shevchenko and Weili both figure to be easy UFC Hall of Fame candidates when the time is right. Weili has developed a reputation for having mystique at 115 pounds, but “Bullet” believes in her own aura. She told Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie.com that all the outside noise doesn’t exist in her preparation.

“For me, it’s definitely a very important fight. But it’s kind of like I’m trying to get away from everything that’s happening around this fight – what people are saying,” Shevchenko said. “You know me for a long time enough to understand my approach to the preparation for the fight. You know my personality. That’s why I’m trying to keep away all my mind about what’s happening. I know, to win the fight, it will take all dedication – not half, not like 90 percent, not 98 percent. It will take 100 and more. That’s why I give all my dedication to that (preparation). …

“For me, every fight is the best fight, the biggest fight. If you’re not gonna prepare like that, it’s not gonna be any good.”

Weili hasn’t lost a fight since 2021, while Shevchenko has gone 11-1-1 in her last 13 outings. Many were impressed by Weili’s dominance over the much bigger Tatiana Suarez in her last fight, leaving many intrigued to see how she’ll fare against Shevchenko. Shevchenko is coming off a dominant unanimous decision win over Manon Fiorot.

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