Valentina Shevchenko (UFC) Wiki, Height, Weight, Age, Husband, Family, Biography & More

Valentina Shevchenko is a Kyrgyzstani and Peruvian professional Mixed Martial Artist and has also been a former Muay Thai fighter. She has competed in the women’s Flyweight division and the Bantamweight category for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and she became the former UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion. In March 2023, she was ranked #1 in the Flyweight category of women and was ranked #3 in the UFC women’s pound-for-pound category as of August 2023. She has won the rank of World Champion in Muay Thai boxing. She had been trained from an early age by her mother and her sister who have been a part of sports for long, and later on under the guidance of Pavel Fedotov. She has been a part of team Tiger Muay Thai.

Wiki/Biography

Valentina Anatolievna Shevchenko (Валентина Шевченко) was born on Monday, 7 March 1988 (age 35 years; as of 2023) in Frunze, Kirghiz SSR, Soviet Union. Her zodiac sign is Pisces.

Found another cool picture in my mom’s family album ❤️ Using a tree as a training partner since 2000🙂 I am 12 years old here and short haircut 🙂👊🏻 Taekwondo ITF 👊🏻”

Valentina got interested in combat sports early on, starting Taekwondo at the age of 5 years because of her sister Antonina and mother. By the age of 12, she started practising Muay Thai and Vale Tudo. In 2000, at the age of 12, she defeated a 22-year-old in kickboxing and gained popularity in the gym. She completed her graduation from Kyrgyz Arts College. In 2007, Valentina, her sister, and their coach, Pavel Fedotov moved to Peru, where they trained in martial arts. She made her professional MMA debut at the age of 15 and won seven fights straight. She decided to start focusing on kickboxing again in 2006 and began competing majorly in Thailand, South Korea, and China. By 2008, Valentina became a citizen of Peru and learned to speak Russian, English, and Spanish. She later got a degree in Film Directing from the University of Arts Kyrgyzstan in 2021. In 2019, Kyrgyzstan’s President praised her work and gave her an award. Valentina and her sister Antonina were the first sisters to both participate in a UFC 255 event.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 5″

Weight (approx.): 57 kg

Hair Colour: Blonde

Eye Colour: Brown

Figure Measurements (approx.): 30-28-30

Family

Valentina was born to a Russian-Ukrainian family. During an interview, she described herself to be a”Russian.” ¹

Parents & Siblings

Her father’s name is Anatoly Shevchenko. He served in the Pacific Fleet of the Soviet Navy for three years during the Cold War and played for the Kyrgyzstan national football team.

Her mother’s name is Elena Shevchenko. She is the president of Kyrgyzstan’s National Muay Thai Association and a former champion in Muay Thai multiple times. During an interview she said,

I started martial arts at the age of five. It turns out that I have been doing them for 28 years. I have been doing what I love for 28 years. I think that my mother sent me to the section is the best thing that happened to me in my life.”

Valentina and her mother

She has an elder sister, Antonina Shevchenko. She is also a Muay Thai fighter and mixed martial artist, who competes in the flyweight division of the UFC.

Husband & Children

Valentina is unmarried and has no children.

Religion/Religious Views

Valentina is an Omnist.

Signature/Autograph

Career

Muay Thai and Kickboxing Career

Between 2003 and 2015, Shevchenko won over 90 matches in K-1, Muay Thai, and kickboxing, with ten of these wins by knockout. She suffered her first kickboxing defeat in 2008 to Debby Urkens and her second in 2015 to Cong Wang. She claimed 8 gold medals at the IFMA World Championships from 2003 to 2014 and won the IMFA Royal World Cup in 2015. Shevchenko has defeated renowned fighters like Joanna Jędrzejczyk three times and Lina Länsberg once. Due to such remarkable feats, she has been viewed as one of the top female Muay Thai fighters globally.

Early Career

On 21 April 2003, at 15, Shevchenko had her first professional MMA fight against Eliza Aidaralieva in Kyrgiz. She won in the second round and then had 6 more wins quickly in Kyrgiz, Russia, and Korea before taking a break in 2006 to focus on Muay Thai.

She fought in the US for the first time on 30 September 2010 against Liz Carmouche in Oklahoma. Even though Shevchenko was leading, an illegal move by Carmouche caused a cut. The referee didn’t declare it a foul, and Shevchenko lost. The next year, she won against Akjarkyn Baiturbaeva and then took another break, doing Muay Thai. She returned to MMA in 2013 in South America’s Fusion FC, winning two fights in two months, making her record 10 wins and 1 loss.

Legacy Fighting Championship

In 2014, Legacy FC signed Shevchenko for MMA and kickboxing. She fought Jan Finney on 27 February 2015 at Legacy Fighting Championship 39 and won with scores of 30–27 from all judges.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Shevchenko joined UFC and first fought Sarah Kaufman at UFC on Fox 17, winning by a close call (28–29, 29–28, 29–28). On 5 March 2016, at UFC 196, she fought Amanda Nunes. Shevchenko was strong in the third round, but Nunes won the first two, resulting in Shevchenko’s loss (29–28, 29–27, 29–27).

Next, she faced Holly Holm on 23 July 2016 at UFC on Fox. After a strong start, Shevchenko dominated the fight and won (49–46, 49–46, 49–46).

 

On 28 January 2017, in UFC on Fox, Shevchenko beat Julianna Peña in the second round, earning her a Performance of the Night bonus.

UFC Bantamweight title fight

Shevchenko was scheduled for a rematch with the reigning women’s bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes, on 8 July 2017, at UFC 213. However, on the day of the fight, Nunes withdrew due to illness. While medical professionals cleared Nunes to participate, she chose not to proceed, which led to the cancellation of the fight. Joanna Jędrzejczyk wanted to take the place of Nunes, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission did not grant approval on such short notice. The fight against Nunes was subsequently rescheduled to take place at UFC 215 on 9 September 2017, in Edmonton, Alberta. Following a highly anticipated match, Shevchenko was defeated by a split decision (48–47, 48–47, and 47–48). In the post-fight press gathering, Shevchenko disagreed with the judges scoring but respected the ultimate outcome. A review of 22 media outlets revealed an even split in scoring, with 10 favouring Nunes, 10 for Shevchenko, and 2 calling it a draw.

Flyweight division

In September 2017, Shevchenko announced her plans to compete in the 125-pound flyweight division. On 3 February 2018, at UFC Fight Night 125, Shevchenko faced Priscila Cachoeira, a newcomer. She secured a victory with heavy dominance, defeating Cachoeira via a rear-naked choke in the second round, and outstriking her 230–3. This victory gave Shevchenko the Performance of the Night bonus.

Shevchenko was set to compete against champion Nicco Montaño on 8 September 2018, at UFC 228. However, Montano was hospitalized before the event’s weigh-ins due to complications from weight reduction. As a result, the fight was cancelled, and Montano’s title of Women’s Flyweight title was stripped away. UFC authorities later announced that Shevchenko would contest for the now-vacant 125-pound flyweight title in 2018.

UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

On 20 September 2018, it was revealed that Shevchenko would compete against Joanna Jędrzejczyk on 8 December 2018, at UFC 231 for the unoccupied UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship. However, due to an unscheduled event at UFC 230, Shevchenko was matched against Sijara Eubanks, who was initially set to fight Jessica Eye at UFC 232. This change was made only for a short time, and after the announcement of a match between Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis as the UFC 230 main event, Shevchenko’s fight with Eubanks was cancelled. Shevchenko then went back to her original match at UFC 231 against Jędrzejczyk. In this bout, Shevchenko easily won the match by a unanimous decision and claimed the UFC Women’s Flyweight title. (49–46 on all scorecards)

For her first defence of the UFC flyweight championship, Shevchenko fought against Jessica Eye at UFC 238 on 8 June 2019. Shevchenko successfully saved her title, defeating Eye with a second-round head kick knockout. This earned her the Performance of the Night bonus. During an interview, she replied to a question by saying,

I believe that it is impossible to define a knockout only by impact. Well, you can, but you don’t have to. If you take exactly that blow with Jessica Eye, everything worked out here: the octagon, and the audience, and the reaction of the audience, and the reaction of the commentators, repeating this blow over and over again. Thanks to this, the fundamental nature of the knockout is formed. So I can never… It’s like asking, “What’s your favorite color?” or “What’s your favorite movie?” For me it’s all superficial, and I don’t like superficial things. I love to go deep. When asked, Which fight was the hardest? – Well, how can you determine which fight was the most difficult? Maybe the fight was not difficult, but the preparation for it was much harder than the rest. All this together determines the complexity.”

Valentina Shevchenko knockout Jessica Eye

On 10 August 2019, at UFC Fight Night 156, Shevchenko faced Liz Carmouche, whom she had previously lost to in 2010 due to a match stoppage from a cut. In the rematch, Shevchenko won by a unanimous decision (50–45 on all scorecards).

Later on in 2020, Shevchenko successfully defended her Flyweight title on 8 February 2020, at UFC 247 against Katlyn Chookagian, and won by a third-round TKO. She was set to fight Joanne Calderwood at UFC 250 on 6 June 2020 but she had to withdraw due to a leg injury. In her fourth title defence, Shevchenko faced Jennifer Maia on 21 November 2020, at UFC 255, getting a win via unanimous decision (49–46 on all scorecards).

For her fifth title defence, she competed against Jéssica Andrade on 24 April 2021, at UFC 261. Shevchenko dominated the fight and won with a second-round TKO. On 25 September 2021, at UFC 266, Shevchenko defended her title for the sixth time against Lauren Murphy, getting the win through a fourth-round technical knockout.

On 12 June 2022, Shevchenko competed against Taila Santos at UFC 275, securing a close win via split decision (49–46, 48–47, 47–48). For this match, she received the Crypto.com “Fan Bonus of the Night” award, and received $30,000 in bitcoin.

On 4 March 2023, at UFC 285, Shevchenko faced Alexa Grasso. In an unexpected turn of events, Grasso defeated Shevchenko with a face crank in the fourth round. This was Shevchenko’s first loss in the Flyweight division, her first ever non-decision loss in the UFC, and the first time she lost by a submission in her MMA career.

Professional boxing career

On 8 May 2010, Shevchenko began her professional boxing career in Callao, Peru, against the well-known Brazilian boxer Halanna dos Santos. She won the fight with a unanimous decision. Throughout the match, Shevchenko used her kickboxing stance and often used Muay Thai techniques. Despite her opponent’s objections, the referee didn’t charge her with a penalty for those tactics.

In 2011, an announcement revealed that Shevchenko would fight against boxing champion Melissa Hernandez for her WIBA Lightweight title. The decision faced negative comments from the boxing community due to Shevchenko’s relatively inexperienced boxing background. When Hernandez decided not to defend her title against Shevchenko, she left it open and expressed her displeasure at the matchup. Ann Saccurato, a renowned lightweight boxer, was then brought to fight Shevchenko for the vacant belt, but the fight was ultimately called off. Shevchenko faced Nerys Rincon in Lima, Peru, on 17 December 2011. She won with a TKO in the fourth round after repeatedly downing Rincon in the third. Once again, she used her kickboxing and Muay Thai skills. Rincon kept pointing it out by no action was taken against it.

Lastly, Shevchenko was scheduled to fight established boxer Mary McGee for the vacant WIBA Lightweight title on 14 January 2012, in Lima. Shevchenko, however, withdrew for unknown reasons and was substituted by Duda Yankovich.

Awards/Titles/Achievements/Honours

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

• UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship (One time, former)
  

  UFC Flyweight title belt

• Seven successful title defenses

• Most title wins in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (8)
  

  8 Flyweight Championship fights, 7 title defense

• Most consecutive title defences in the UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (7)

• Most consecutive single title defences by a woman in UFC history (7)

• Second most combined title defences by a woman in UFC history (7)

• First Woman to defend the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship
  

  UFC World Champion belt

• Performance of the Night (Three times) vs. Julianna Peña, Priscila Cachoeira, and Jessica Eye

• Tied (Katlyn Chookagian) for most wins in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (9)

• Most consecutive wins in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (9)

• Most knockout wins in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (4)

• Second most finishes in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (5)(behind Gillian Robertson)

• Longest average fight time in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (17:01 minutes)

• Most takedowns landed in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (35)

• Most control time in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (1:00:52)

• Highest significant strike accuracy in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (56.9%)

• Fewest strikes absorbed per minute in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (1.67)

• Most total strikes landed in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (1398)

• Highest takedown accuracy percentage in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (70.0%)

• Second most total fight time in UFC Women’s Flyweight division history (2:52:47)

• Holds victories over four former UFC champions – Holly Holm, Julianna Peña, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, and Jéssica Andrade
  

  Valentina’s multiple title belts and awards

MMAJunkie.com

• 2019 June Knockout of the Month vs. Jessica Eye

CombatPress.com

• 2020 Female Fighter of the Year

Cageside Press

• 2020 Female Fighter of the Year

BT Sport

• 2020 Female Fighter of the Year

• 2021 Female Fighter of the Year

Daily Mirror

• 2021 Female Fighter of the Year

World MMA Awards

• 2022 Female Fighter of the Year

Kickboxing

• Kunlun Fight Women’s Lightweight Championship (1 title defence)

• 2014 Kunlun Fight Female -60kg Tournament Champion

• 2013 World K-1 Champion WKC, Peru (60 kg)
  

  Valentina’s belt in kickboxing

• 2013 World K-1 Champion WKC, Mexico (60 kg)

• 2005 World Champion KF-1 MMA Pro, Korea, Seoul (57 kg)

• 2004 World Kickboxing Champion WAKO, Italy (56 kg)

• 2003 World Champion KF-1 MMA Pro, Korea, Seoul (55 kg)

• 2003 World Kickboxing Championship WAKO Bronze Medal, France (56 kg)

• 2003 Asia Cup Champion (55 kg)

• 2002 Kyrgyzstan National Champion (55 kg)

Judo

• 2002 Kyrgyzstan National Champion (58 kg)

Boxing

• 2007 Russian Women’s National Amateur Champion (57 kg)

Taekwondo

• 2005 ITF and WTF European Championship, Gold Medal (58 kg)

• 2005 ITF and WTF European Championship Team Pattern, Gold Medal

• 2003 ITF World Championship, Bronze Medal (58 kg)

• 2002 ITF Asian Championship, Gold Medal (58 kg)

Muay Thai

• 2015 I.F.M.A. Royal World Cup Tournament Championship (60 kg)

• 2014 I.F.M.A. World Championship (60 kg)

• 2013 World Combat Games, Muay Thai Gold Medalist (60 kg)

• 2012 WMC Muaythai Female Super Lightweight World Champion

• 2012 I.F.M.A. World Championship (60 kg)
  

  Valentina got a Gold Medal at the 2012 IFMA

• 2011 I.F.M.A. World Championship, Silver Medal (60 kg)

• 2011 WMC-I.F.M.A. South American Championship (63.5 kg)
  

  Valentina’s title belt in 2010

• 2010 I.F.M.A. Panamerican Championship (60 kg)

• 2010 World Combat Games, Muay Thai Gold Medalist (60 kg)

• 2010 I.F.M.A. World Championship (63.5 kg)

• 2009 I.F.M.A. World Championship (60 kg)

• 2008 I.F.M.A. World Championship (57 kg)
  

  World Muay Thai Championship, Korea 2008

• 2008 R.M.F. Russian National Championship (57 kg)

• 2007 I.F.M.A. World Championship (57 kg)
  

  Valentina became World Muay Thai champion in 2007

• 2007 R.M.F. Russian National Championship (57 kg)

• 2006 I.F.M.A. World Championship (57 kg)

• 2006 World Muay Thai WMF Champion, Thailand (57 kg)
  

  Valentina wins World Muay Thai Championship 2003

• 2003 I.F.M.A. World Championship (57 kg)
  

  Muay Thai World Championship trophy

Honour from President

• Award from Kyrgyzstan’s President for the work and glory brought to the Nation
  

  Valentina gets honoured by President Sadyr Zhaparov

Honoured Professor Award

• Title of Honored Professor of Kyrgyz National University of Arts

Car Collection

• Nissan Titan V8 Titan.
  

  Valentina’s black truck

• Jeep
  

  Valentina’s jeep

• Hummer
  

  Valentina’s Hummer

Bike Collection

• Mountain Bike
  

  Valentina’s bike

• Harley Davidson
  

  Valentina’s Harley Davidson

Tattoos

Valentina got a tattoo of Hanuman on her right side of her stomach in 2014.

In 2004, Valentina got a tattoo on her shoulder which she made after winning the World Championship of Muay Thai in Thailand. It is the emblem of the Federation of Thai Boxing of the Kirghiz Republic, and the emblem of trainer’s club, Pavel Fedotov.

She has a tattoo of a Glock-19 and Bullets on the left side of her belly.

She has tattoos on her upper back and lower back.

She has a tattoo in a foreign language on the back of her neck.

Salary/Income

• UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cerrone 2: W (Kaufman) $26,500 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 win bonus, $2,500 Reebok sponsorship)

• UFC 196: L (Nunes): $16,500 ($14,000 to show, $2,500 Reebok sponsorship)

• UFC on Fox: Holm vs. Shevchenko: W (Holm) $30,500 ($14,000 to show, $14,000 win bonus, $2,500 Reebok sponsorship)

• UFC on Fox: Shevchenko vs. Pena: W (Pena) $84,500 ($16,000 to show, $16,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, $2,500 Reebok sponsorship)

• UFC 213: $70,000 (UFC paid despite the bout being cancelled, according to Dana White)

• UFC 215: L (Nunes) $130,000 ($100,000 to show, $30,000 Reebok sponsorship)

• UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Anders: W (Cachoeira) $91,000 ($18,000 to show, $18,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, $5,000 Reebok sponsorship)

• UFC 231: W (Jedrzejczyk) $130,000 ($100,000 to show, $30,000 fight week incentive pay)

• UFC 238: W (Eye) $300,000 ($105,000 to show, $105,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, $40,000 fight week incentive pay)

• UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs Carmouche 2: W (Carmouche) $260,000 ($110,000 to show, $110,000 win bonus, $40,000 fight week incentive pay)

• UFC 247: W (Chookagian) $390,000 ($350,000 to show, $40,000 fight week incentive pay)

• UFC 255: W (Maia) $390,000 ($350,000 to show, $40,000 fight week incentive pay)

• UFC 261: W (Andrade) $392,000 ($350,000 to show, $42,000 fight week incentive pay)

• UFC 266: W (Murphy) $392,000 ($350,000 to show, $42,000 fight week incentive pay)

Career Earnings: $2,703,000 ²

Net Worth

Valentina’s net worth is estimated to be around $5 million. ³

Favourites

• Food: Sea Food

• Grappling Technique: Chokes

• Striking Technique: Spinning Back Kick

• Fighter: Benny “The Jet” Urquidez

• Activity: Shooting

• Weapon: Glock-19

Facts/Trivia

• Valentina got her nickname “The Bullet” from her coach, Pavel Fedotov, in her early days as a fighter due to her quick speed.

• Valentina enjoys spending her time in various activities such as surfing, boating, shooting, swimming, and travelling.  She is an expert in using many different types of guns and weapons.
  

  Valentina goes surfing

  

  Valentina at a Shooting Range

  

  Valentina in a basket boat

  

  Valentina swimming

• Valentina and her sister, Antonina, have a combined YouTube channel with over 30,000 followers as of 2023.
  

  Valentina’s YouTube channel

• Valentina had a passion for dancing since childhood. She enjoys national dances like the Caucasian Lezginka, which she dances to when entering the professional ring, and the “Russian gypsy dance.” In addition to her love for dance, she also gives dance classes.

 

• Valentina has been featured in various TV programmes and reality shows in Russian. She is also a part of the movie, Bruised (2020), as the character of Lucia “Lady Killer” Chavez. She won the first prize in her first dance reality show.
  

  Valentina in a TV programme

  

  Valentina’s dance performance at TV show

  

  Valentina in Bruised 2020

• Valentina owns three dogs, one German Shepard, one Sentral Asian Shepherd, and one black Taigan. She enjoys riding horses and owns a few horses at her farmhouse.
  

  Valentina’s dogs

  

  Valentina’s puppy

  

  Valentina riding a horse

• She can play the ukulele and spends time learning more about this instrument.
  

  Valentina playing the ukulele

• Valentina Shevchenko has been a part of promoting and endorsing several brands such as GuardLab, Brownells, Inc, Smith & Wesson Corp, Dapper Scrappers, LUCHO Shoes, Girls with Guns Clothing, and VEOSPORT.
  

  Valentina promoting LUCHO Shoes

• Valentina has earned multiple ranks in combat sports. She has a 2nd Dan black belt and the title of Master of Sports in Taekwondo. She is an International Master of Sports in Muay Thai, a Master of Sports in both Boxing and Kickboxing and also holds a black belt and the title of Master of Sports in Judo.

• Valentina was featured in an online Gun Cult magazine issue in April 2018.
  

  Valentina in Gun Cult magazine issue April 2018

• Valentina has her own website, bulletko.com.

• Valentina consumes a non-vegetarian-based diet and often likes to catch fresh fish to cook.
  

  Valentina catches Salmon

  

  Valentina’s diet

• In 2013, Valentina won the Peruvian dance reality show, Combate, on ATV with her partner, Alejandro “Zumba” Benitez. During the show, she defeated boxer David Zegarra in a wrestling match in under a minute.

• In 2015, she joined the IFMA executive board and became an ambassador for their program in Peru, “Sport is Your Gang”. This program, which won an award in 2014, used Muay Thai training to provide positive options for at-risk youth.

• Valentina Shevchenko is a playable character in the video games EA Sports UFC 2, 3, and 4.
  

  Valentina Shevchenko in UFC 4

• Valentina has been involved in shooting competitions since 2010, starting her training in 2006 with her coach Pavel Fedotov.
  

  Valentina in a shooting competition

• Valentina owns her own motorboat and a plane. ⁴
  

  Valentina sitting on her plane

• Valentina has a talent for art and enjoys making drawings and paintings on different canvases.
  

  Valentina makes street art

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