Valentina Shevchenko’s four-time rival crowns her the UFC GOAT after UFC 322 victory

One of UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko’s biggest rivals believes she’s earned the right to be called the greatest.

UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko earned arguably the biggest win of her career last weekend at UFC 322. In a dominant performance against former strawweight titleholder Zhang Weili, Shevchenko pitched a shutout in the Octagon en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Shevchenko’s second title reign includes recent wins over Manon Fiorot and Weili, who were both favored to dethrone the champion in their fights. But Shevchenko turned them back with well-rounded game plans to stifle her opponents’ strengths.

Ahead of UFC 322, UFC play-by-play broadcaster Jon Anik made headlines when he claimed that Shevchenko would make a strong case to surpass Amanda Nunes as the greatest female fighter of all time with a victory at UFC 322. Shevchenko and Nunes fought twice in their careers, with Nunes winning both affairs.

A UFC legend and one of Shevchenko’s most decorated foes believes she’s surpassed Nunes in the GOAT debate.

Valentina Shevchenko’s former foe gives her GOAT label after dominant win at UFC 322

In a recent Instagram comment, former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk crowned Shevchenko as the women’s MMA GOAT.

“I’ve known you were special since we first fought Muay Thai in Thailand in 2006,” Jedrzejczyk said of Shevchenko.

“But on Saturday, you proved that you are not just special, but the greatest of all time. Congratulations, The Bullet!”

Shevchenko defeated Jedrzejczyk three times in professional Muay Thai and once in MMA at UFC 231. Jedrzejczyk announced her retirement from combat sports following a knockout defeat to Weili at UFC 275.

Nunes is expected to return to the Octagon next year for a fight against UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, although nothing has been announced as of this writing. Nunes hasn’t competed since her retirement fight at UFC 289.