Valentina Shevchenko vs Zhang Weili – Let’s Talk About It

[m249viking]

You're a low effort loser, bro. Get some new material. Sorry if Rose hurt you. You got so bent out of shape because someone said Rose was decent. Seek help, mate.

Holy fuck you are stupid

 

[xhaydenx]

You are such a dumb dumb, how many epic fights has Weili put on? too many.

Literally one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC.

She's def put on some bangers, but man, her last 3 have been annoying and a bit lackluster. Girl is whooping ass but she's become way more tactical lol. The way she fought Lemos, Yan, and Suarez is so different to her fights before those. Like she had so many chances in those where she could have tried for a finish, but chose to just play it safe and bag the round easily.

At 36 maybe she's slowing down a bit and realizes fighting smarter and safer is better for her at this point. Shev is sorta like this too now, even though she has always been super safe.

I miss the Zhang that was charging out and throwing elbow killshots in the pocket with Andrade, or swanging and banging with Joanna and landing a spinning backfist lol.

 

[fortheo]

She's def put on some bangers, but man, her last 3 have been annoying and a bit lackluster. Girl is whooping ass but she's become way more tactical lol. The way she fought Lemos, Yan, and Suarez is so different to her fights before those. Like she had so many chances in those where she could have tried for a finish, but chose to just play it safe and bag the round easily.

At 36 maybe she's slowing down a bit and realizes fighting smarter and safer is better for her at this point. Shev is sorta like this too now, even though she has always been super safe.

I miss the Zhang that was charging out and throwing elbow killshots in the pocket with Andrade, or swanging and banging with Joanna and landing a spinning backfist lol.

Zhang's chin has been going for a while now. She hasn't reacted well to getting hit in years, thus she's become mostly a grappler. She works with many of the best grappling coaches in mma, and it shows. Interestingly enough, the Hickman bros used to train val, too, but currently have a closer tie with zhang. I wonder if they'll expose some of val's grappling flaws to zhang

 

[wildchild88]

She's def put on some bangers, but man, her last 3 have been annoying and a bit lackluster. Girl is whooping ass but she's become way more tactical lol. The way she fought Lemos, Yan, and Suarez is so different to her fights before those. Like she had so many chances in those where she could have tried for a finish, but chose to just play it safe and bag the round easily.

At 36 maybe she's slowing down a bit and realizes fighting smarter and safer is better for her at this point. Shev is sorta like this too now, even though she has always been super safe.

I miss the Zhang that was charging out and throwing elbow killshots in the pocket with Andrade, or swanging and banging with Joanna and landing a spinning backfist lol.

I think her recent fights have been a similar case to Merab.

She doesn’t have the punching power to finish, but she really pushes the pace and is urgent about winning the fight. Shes doing her best. I enjoyed those fights personally .

And yeah prior to that, win or lose, she put on classics, the 2 X Joanna fights, Rose fights and the Brazilian chick she KOd for the title.. amongst others.

 

[xhaydenx]

I think her recent fights have been a similar case to Merab.

She doesn’t have the punching power to finish, but she really pushes the pace and is urgent about winning the fight. Shes doing her best. I enjoyed those fights personally .

And yeah prior to that, win or lose, she put on classics, the 2 X Joanna fights, Rose fights and the Brazilian chick she KOd for the title.. amongst others.

See, I don't think she does have the power to finish but isn't urgent lol. Like, she's had enough power to be able to hurt Yan, Lemos, and I think she did Suarez as well. She just laid off them in the end and never tried too hard to put them back into that really bad spot again. I think she just slows a bit now. She also kinda fought Yan and Lemos on the backfoot which takes more energy out of you. It made sense against those two girls to fight like that. I enjoyed those fights too.

The Brazilian chick lol. Yeh, that was Andrade.

Zhang's fight against Joanna is one of the best ever fights in WMMA in terms of pure entertainment along with how closely matched they were. Her fights against Rose were good too, but not as good because Rose found her path to victory and it wasn't close the entire time.

 

[xhaydenx]

Zhang's chin has been going for a while now. She hasn't reacted well to getting hit in years, thus she's become mostly a grappler. She works with many of the best grappling coaches in mma, and it shows. Interestingly enough, the Hickman bros used to train val, too, but currently have a closer tie with zhang. I wonder if they'll expose some of value grappling flaws to zhang

You reckon it's that her chin is going or just that she's getting hit by harder punchers recently? Like, I feel like there's a pretty big power difference between Joanna and Rose compared to Lemos and Yan.

 

[aogiri]

Fight is pretty meh compared to if it were booked a couple years ago. Shevchenko clearly not the same as she was a few years ago. More interested in Zhang vs Silva or Ditcheva.

 

[wildchild88]

See, I don't think she does have the power to finish but isn't urgent lol. Like, she's had enough power to be able to hurt Yan, Lemos, and I think she did Suarez as well. She just laid off them in the end and never tried too hard to put them back into that really bad spot again. I think she just slows a bit now. She also kinda fought Yan and Lemos on the backfoot which takes more energy out of you. It made sense against those two girls to fight like that. I enjoyed those fights too.

The Brazilian chick lol. Yeh, that was Andrade.

Zhang's fight against Joanna is one of the best ever fights in WMMA in terms of pure entertainment along with how closely matched they were. Her fights against Rose were good too, but not as good because Rose found her path to victory and it wasn't close the entire time.

It’s easier said than done, she knows how much has she has in the tank, shes well muscled for her size so she has to be careful not to gas herself out.

Also Suarez was a quality opponent, with good wrestling and physicality, Weili had to work to a game plan.. cant hate on that.

Andrade’s name escaped me briefly, it’s Friday and I’m hauling ass at work.

 

[xhaydenx]

It’s easier said than done, she knows how much has she has in the tank, shes well muscled for her size so she has to be careful not to has herself out.

Also Suarez was a quality opponent, either good wrestling and physicality, Weili had to work to a game plan.. cant hate on that.

Andrade’s name escaped me briefly, it’s Friday and I’m hauling ass at work.

Yeh, like I said, at 36 she has to pace herself now. ANd like you're saying, she is pretty muscular.

Suarez was a good opponent, just overrated. Was awesome watching Zhang expose her completely. Outwrestling Suarez was amazing to watch lol.

 

[fortheo]

You reckon it's that her chin is going or just that she's getting hit by harder punchers recently? Like, I feel like there's a pretty big power difference between Joanna and Rose compared to Lemos and Yan.

I think she felt like her chin was going and she made a conscious decision to become more risk adverse because of that. Whether it's because she was facing harder hitters or not, I'm not sure. Maybe cutting less weight will make her more confident to stand and bang the way she used to, but I think she's going try to mix things up a lot with val.

 

[xhaydenx]

I think she felt like her chin was going and she made a conscious decision to become more risk adverse because of that. Whether it's because she was facing harder hitters or not, I'm not sure. Maybe cutting less weight will make her more confident to stand and bang the way she used to, but I think she's going try to mix things up a lot with val.

Yeh, probably a combo of chin going and facing a few girls who had no real chance outside of a big punch decided a lot of her gameplanning.

I think she'll have to mix it up with Val. I'm not sure she's really better than Val at anything apart from maybe fitness and having more explosion in some of her movements.

Gonna be a good fight.

 

[fortheo]

Yeh, probably a combo of chin going and facing a few girls who had no real chance outside of a big punch decided a lot of her gameplanning.

I think she'll have to mix it up with Val. I'm not sure she's really better than Val at anything apart from maybe fitness and having more explosion in some of her movements.

Gonna be a good fight.

I think both of them are on their last leg. Weili might get some more life out of her career if she goes back to straweight, though. Anyways, I won't be at all surprised to see Natalia dance around the winner, assuming they fight her.

 

[xhaydenx]

I think both of them are on their last leg. Weili might get some more life out of her career if she goes back to straweight, though. Anyways, I won't be at all surprised to see Natalia dance around the winner, assuming they fight her.

Yeh, Val has declined so much. She's flat footed and just trying to stand on the spot and counter by the end of the 3rd rounds now. Old Val was running rings around girls until the end of the 5th with no worries.

I hope Natalia gets the strap next. Been watching her fights again lately. She's so good.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

I'm excited for it. 2 of the best women in today's game going at it. The real question is, if Weili defeats Val, will everyone accept her legacy being better than Val's?

Yes because she would also have shadowrealming my bae Joanna as a notch in her belt.

 

[KO Shotz]

Yeh, Val has declined so much. She's flat footed and just trying to stand on the spot and counter by the end of the 3rd rounds now. Old Val was running rings around girls until the end of the 5th with no worries.

I hope Natalia gets the strap next. Been watching her fights again lately. She's so good.

Natalia getting the winner of Val/Weili

 

[Kuksenkov]

A dream match a couple of years too late.

Prime Valentina (2015 - 2021 ish) was no doubt, the most skilled and technical WMMA fighter to grace the UFC. To go toe to toe with Nunes (Who fought at Featherweight before AND after fighting Valentina, and also knocked out The Borg!) purely on skill while being a natural flyweight? That's one of the most impressive feats I've ever seen in WMMA.

Prime Valentina would've been an easy pick against Weili. 2025 Valentina? Not so much.

Weili improved her game tremendously after she won the title against Andrade. She's leveled up her grappling a lot. She's explosive, skilled, dynamic, athletic, strong. An all around nightmare of a matchup for anyone. I think she's got a real chance to beat Valentina next week.

Although they're both aging, I still believe they're going to give us a display of high level MMA. My money (and my heart) are with Valentina, hope that she can turn back the clock one last time and put on a great performance.

I really don't want Zhang to win this one, not after what she did to Joanna champion.

 

[doggo]

Val won't let her get close i think.

 

[bjjwar]

This fight has me genuinely excited. Two of the best women to ever do it, finally set to square off. Shevchenko’s technical skill and composure are unmatched, but Zhang’s power and pace make her dangerous from the opening bell. This is one of those matchups where both fighters bring something the other hasn’t really faced before.

What makes it so interesting is how different their styles are. Valentina is all about precision, timing, and control. Zhang brings chaos, aggression, and relentless pressure. If Valentina can keep her range and stay calculated, she probably picks Zhang apart over time. But if Zhang can drag her into a firefight early, it could get ugly fast.

A few things I’m wondering going in:

• Can Zhang’s aggression actually break Valentina’s rhythm?
• Does Valentina still have that championship edge after all these years at the top?
• Who handles the pace better if it goes deep into the fourth and fifth rounds?

Personally, I’m slightly leaning toward Shevchenko. She’s just seen more high-level situations and knows how to stay calm when things get wild. But Zhang’s explosiveness makes her a real threat to finish anyone if she finds her moment.

Who are you picking, and how do you see it ending? Decision? KO? Submission? And do you think this fight changes the conversation about who the greatest women’s fighter of all time is?

I cant get excited for 2 women past their prime with 38 and 36 yrs old when one got KO’ed by frking Rose and the other finished by fu***g Grasso lol. Also both lost twice to these cans lol. Cant get any worse than that…

 

[Bowel-forged Stool]

What are the chances for a double KO?

Women mma, so you take the normal odds and divide by 69

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Zhang's legacy in particular is not immaculate considering she got KOd and then decisioned by Rose and never avenged any of those losses.

Hasn't avenged yet, once she's Flyweight champion a 3rd fight is a high possibility.

Also val isn't any different with her 2 losses to Amanda she's never avenged.