“Bullet” won her first UFC title in December 2018 and defended gold less than a year ago. Between two separate title reigns, Shevchenko has defended her belt an outstanding nine times. Even late into her 30s, Shevchenko’s grasp on her title has remained ironclad. She has the third most UFC wins in the history of women’s MMA, alongside another dozen longevity records from her years of dominance.
How much respect and leverage does all that excellence buy? Not much, as it turns out. Last month, news broke that Shevchenko was injured, and that she was opting to vacate the title rather than hold up the division. As a result, UFC 332 was headlined by Wang Cong versus Shevchenko’s planned opponent, Natalia Silva, with a newly vacant belt on the line. Silva walked away as the new champion, while Shevchenko will get the next title shot … maybe.
Now, a new report from Ariel Helwani revealed that Shevchenko’s title vacation may not have been so voluntary. In fact, she may have been pressured to drop her belt solely because the UFC 332 card couldn’t survive without a title fight on top. Once Paulo Costa negotiations fell apart, stripping Shevchenko was suddenly the only option for a title fight
“Does she have a lingering injury, yes,” he explained (via BloodyElbow). “If the UFC would have had another title fight for October 3, would she still be champion, yes. Did she willingly give up that belt, no. Absolutely not. They needed a title fight. They said we’ll do right by you when you come back, you’ll get the title fight.”