UFC women’s flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko issued a challenge of her own in response to potential challenger Manon Fiorot.
UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] issued a retirement challenge in response to [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag]’s recent call for a title fight. She also added a snarky dig.
Friday, Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) expressed her frustration with waiting for a title shot in a message to the champ Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC).
“@BulletValentina stop making people wait!” Fiorot wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Let’s do it soon enough so I can send you to retirement and move on.”
The champ didn’t take long to reply, and she stuck with the retirement theme by challenging Fiorot to put her career on the line when they meet in the octagon.
“You lose – you retire Deal?!!” Shevchenko wrote on X.
The retirement stipulation for the fight was a strong enough challenge, but Shevchenko added a snarky remark to punctuate her reply, calling Fiorot an “ill-mannered first-grader.”
Shevchenko recognizes Fiorot is likely her next challenger after defeating Alexa Grasso at UFC 306 to reclaim the women’s flyweight title. Fiorot, who is undefeated through seven UFC bouts, weighed in as the backup for that fight.
The UFC has not officially announced plans for Shevchenko or Fiorot’s next bout.
Manon Fiorot is getting impatient with her wait for a UFC title shot.
[autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag] is getting impatient with her wait for a UFC title shot.
Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has steadily knocked off contenders while the title fight trilogy between [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] and Alexa Grasso played out. Now that Shevchenko has emerged with the women’s flyweight belt, Fiorot is eager to finally book her first championship opportunity.
The Frenchwoman took to social media on Friday and made a pointed callout at Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC), declaring that she will take the belt and send “The Bullet” into retirement from the sport (via X):
— Manon The Beast FIOROT 🇨🇵 (@ManonFiorot_MMA) November 8, 2024
Stop making people wait! Let’s do it soon enough so I can send you to retirement and move on.
Fiorot, No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s flyweight rankings, has yet to be beaten under the UFC banner. The 34-year-old has already defeated Erin Blanchfield, Rose Namajunas, Mayra Bueno Silva and more during her run, and is looking to climb the ultimate prize of UFC gold.
In a recent interview on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” No. 1-ranked Shevchenko said she is open to a fight with Fiorot, who weighed in as the backup fighter when Shevchenko reclaimed the 125-pound belt from Grasso at UFC 306 in September.
Having felt Fiorot’s strength and failing to take her down in their fight, Blanchfield (13-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) expects the French fighter’s size to pose problems for Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC).
“I think Manon could do very well,” Blanchfield told MMA Junkie. “I could even see her beating Valentina. I could see Valentina winning, but I think Manon can use her size. I think she’s a very big flyweight, and she knows how to use her range and like her length. I think Valentina is more like dynamic and has more skills.
“So, I’m curious how Valentina is going to deal with her size because I know in the past, let’s say with like Taila (Santos), I remember her complaining about how big Taila is, and I feel like Manon’s significantly bigger. So yeah, I think it’s a good matchup, and I’m curious to see how it goes.”
“I feel like I was able to utilize my striking better. That’s something obviously I had a lot of focus on after my last fight,” Blanchfield said of her win over Namajunas. “I feel like I was able to show a little bit of improvement there. Obviously there’s room for more, but it’s only been a couple of months.
“So, I feel like I was able to definitely show that to myself and win those championship rounds, too. I feel like that was a big thing. Even though losing those first two rounds, I was able to come back and sweep the scorecards on the rest of the rounds.”
Chael Sonnen thinks Valentina Shevchenko made a mistake by not acknowledging Manon Fiorot after UFC 306.
[autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] made a mistake by not acknowledging [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag] after UFC 306.
Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC) regained her flyweight title with a dominant decision win over Alexa Grasso (16-4-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event at Sphere in Las Vegas. Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) weighed in as a backup for the fight, but her services weren’t needed. Although Shevchenko dismissed a fourth fight with Grasso next, Sonnen would have liked to see her address Fiorot.
“Can I tell you what one of my least favorite parts (of UFC 306) was? It’s very simple,” Sonnen said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” alongside Daniel Cormier. “There was an alternate that flew in and weighed in in case anything happened with the Grasso-Shevchenko fight, Fiorot. At a minimum, it would have been nice if Valentina mentioned her. I feel like it’s clear that Fiorot is next. She was almost that night. And after the fight, Valentina went in a different direction. She wanted to thank Hunter Campbell and Dana White as opposed to call out an opponent.
“You were a main event here at this very event one year ago against the same opponent for the same title then they have demoted you to a co-main event. At some point you’ve got to wake up. The crowd wasn’t thrilled with this match. If they were to do it again next year, it’s going to come lower and lower. I felt for Fiorot. To come over there, get licensed, go through all the medicals, go through the training camp, the weight cut, and there’s no opportunity, which means there’s not a very big check to split up with your team. At a minimum, you could have had a callout. On a human level, to a degree, it bothered me.”
The UFC 306 co-main event has an insurance policy in Manon Fiorot, who is getting the backup spot she wanted.
The UFC 306 co-main event has an insurance policy in [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag].
Fiorot’s coach, Aldric Cassata, told French media outlet Boxemag.com on Wednesday that his fighter has been tabbed as the backup for the trilogy between women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko on Sept. 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas.
“Manon is officially (planned as) the backup for the belt,” Cassata said, although the UFC has yet to make an announcement. “She will be in Vegas.”
Cassata also confirmed Fiorot’s status to MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun.
Fiorot, 34, carries a 12-1 overall record after winning 12 fights in a row since her lone defeat to Leah McCourt in her professional debut in 2018, including a 7-0 mark in the UFC. Fiorot’s push for a title shot gained major traction after her two most recent wins against former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas last September and most recently a clean sweep in a headliner with Erin Blanchfield this past March.
Back in April, shortly after her win over Blanchfield, Fiorot said in an interview with MMA Junkie that she would prefer being a backup to Grasso vs. Shevchenko rather than accept another fight while waiting for the trilogy to happen.
“If I have to choose, the best choice for me is to be the backup on the fight,” Fiorot said through an interpreter. “I think it’s a good thing if someone, Valentina or Alexa, have an injury or miss weight. I think the best choice for me now is to be backup for this fight so I can see the fight and perhaps do a faceoff after against the winner. … I think I deserve it.”
Apparently so does the UFC.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
Manon Fiorot, Maycee Barber, Rose Namajunas, Erin Blanchfield? The options in the UFC women’s flyweight division are plenty.
When UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] and [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] complete a trilogy later this year, it should be the last time they meet. After that? Both fighters expect to welcome new challengers.
That, of course, will depend on the result of their Sept. 14 showdown at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which could headline UFC 306. The fight will take place on the heels of Grasso and Shevchenko coaching this season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which filmed earlier this year and premiered this past Tuesday on ESPN and ESPN+.
In two previous encounters, Grasso (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) scored an all-time upset when she claimed the title from Shevchenko (23-4-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) with a fourth-round submission in March 2023 at UFC 285. Six months later, the two fought to a hotly debated split draw in their rematch at Noche UFC. Short of a clear winner in the trilogy, this should be it for Grasso and Shevchenko, who both look forward to new blood in the form of top contender [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag] or the winner of next month’s [autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] main event at UFC Fight Night in Denver. Erin Blanchfield could also be in the mix despite losing to Fiorot in March, depending on timing and circumstances.
Fiorot, who is riding a 12-fight winning streak after back-to-back wins over Namajunas and Blanchfield, figures to be in pole position among those names.
“Right now, at this moment after (our) fight, Manon and Erin. I think Manon is on this list,” Shevchenko told MMA Junkie. “But anything can happen for this time. Still we have more time, like three months, a little bit more after we rest a little bit. Anything can happen, but at this moment, I would say fight Manon, and Erin brought Manon in this position.”
Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is certainly a matchup that Grasso would relish given the pairing of styles.
“If I have to fight her, that will be awesome,” Grasso told MMA Junkie. “She’s big, she’s strong, she has a lot of good striking. So, for me, it could be a perfect fight.”
Not to be forgotten, though, is Barber (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC). The 26-year-old, who once promised to be the youngest UFC champion of all time, has come into her own, currently on a six-fight winning streak against increased competition. Should she get past Namajunas with an impressive performance, it could lead to a rematch with Grasso, who beat her by unanimous decision in February 2021.
That’s a result Barber hasn’t gotten over, and she’s let it be known – which is no big deal to the champ.
“That’s OK. We all have to make noise to be there,” Grasso said. “But yeah, if there’s a moment she’s the contender and I’m the champion, we’re gonna fight again.”
On “Spinning Back Clique,” our panel discusses Conor McGregor becoming part owner of BKFC, Alex Perez’s KO win, the upcoming UFC 301, more.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Farah Hannoun and Nolan King will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:
UFC on ESPN 55 is in the books. The UFC Apex event saw [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag] make a huge statement at 125 pounds, knocking out [autotag]Matheus Nicolau[/autotag] in the main event. This card also saw [autotag]Bogdan Guskov[/autotag] pick up a big TKO win over veteran [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag], among many other results. We discuss the headliner bout, as well as other standout performances from the card.
UFC wasn’t the only show around this past Saturday. BKFC hosted the fourth edition of its tent pole KnuckleMania events. [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag], arguably the face of the promotion and the “King of Violence,” defeated former BKFC champ and former UFC title challenger [autotag]Thiago Alves[/autotag] in the main event of the card. It was also announced that [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] is now part-owner of BKFC.
This past week was busy in terms of callouts (and requests): [autotag]Chris Weiman[/autotag] interested in taking a step up against [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]; [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] doubled down on his plan to box [autotag]Ryan Garcia[/autotag]; [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag] interested in an interim title fight against [autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag]; [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] teased a move down to 185 pounds; [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] says he’s all in to run a trilogy bout against [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] in Karate Combat.
Looking ahead, the UFC 301 goes down this Saturday in Brazil. Although not the most stacked pay-per-view, at least on paper, this card features a UFC flyweight title fight between [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] and [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag], and the return of former UFC and WEC champion [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag], who fights [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag].
Manon Fiorot has cemented herself as No. 1 contender, but she might have to wait a while for her UFC title opportunity.
[autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag] has cemented herself as No. 1 contender in the UFC women’s flyweight division, but she might have to wait a while for her title opportunity.
Like Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC), streaking contender [autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag] also offered her services as a backup fighter for Grasso vs. Shevchenko. Barber took shots at both Fiorot and Blanchfield by calling them boring, and Fiorot thinks that’s rich coming from her.
“I don’t think I’ve ever watched a full fight of Maycee’s,” Fiorot told MMA Junkie in French. “I know she fought Katlyn Cerminara, and I know she won by decision, too. I might have watched the first round, but it honestly wasn’t spectacular. She didn’t do better than me.
“I fought with an injured knee. I tore my ACL in the first round against Katlyn, and I didn’t find her fight sensational. She won by decision, too. She has a lot of decisions. I know she wrestles a lot, she sticks (to her opponents) a lot, so I don’t think her style is spectacular either.”
Fiorot, who’s coming off back-to-back wins over Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas, thinks her resume is a lot stronger than Barber’s (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC). She’s willing to fight her next as long as a piece of the flyweight title is on the line.
“For the time being, she hasn’t proven anything in comparison to what I’ve done so far,” Fiorot continued. “I have no problems fighting her, but for an interim title.”
Manon Fiorot is eager to ensure her next fight is for the UFC women’s flyweight title, even if that means taking it in unideal circumstance.
[autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag] is eager to ensure her next fight is for the UFC women’s flyweight title, even if that means taking it in unideal circumstance.
With seven consecutive victories to begin her octagon tenure, Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) would typically have a title shot locked up by now. However, the string of three consecutive title fights between [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] and [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] have pushed everyone out of the immediate title conversation.
Grasso (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) and Shevchenko (23-4-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) are currently searching as coaches on Season 32 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series and are expected to wrap up their trilogy at UFC 306, which takes place Sept. 16 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Following Fiorot’s unanimous decision victory over Erin Blanchfield in a February main event, she wants the winner of Grasso and Shevchenko. But if something happens to either one of them, whether it’s weeks out or days out, Fiorot wants to volunteer he services as a backup.
“If I have to choose, the best choice for me is to be the backup on the fight,” told MMA Junkie through an interpreter. “I think it’s a good thing if someone, Valentina or Alexa, have an injury or miss weight. I think the best choice for me now is to be backup for this fight so I can see the fight and perhaps do a faceoff after against the winner. … I think I deserve it.”
In addition to her victory over Blanchfield, the UFC resume of Fiorot also includes former champ Rose Namajunas and one-time title challengers Katlyn Cerminara, Jennifer Maia and Mayra Bueno Silva.
Fiorot, 34, said there’s only one other situation where she would entertain taking a fight against someone outside of the Grasso vs. Shevchenko winner, and that’s if the promotion implemented an interim belt.
“I’m the No. 1 contender for three fights in a row,” Fiorot said. “I’m pretty sure I deserve it and I’ll fight for it in my next fight.”
If Fiorot does indeed opt to sit out, she will have to wait for flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko to settle their trilogy, which will take place only after the airing of Season 32 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which is currently being filmed. “TUF 32” premiers June 4 and likely will air until the end of summer.
“If I’m Manon Fiorot, I’m not fighting,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “There’s no reason to go from the fights that she has had and take another one when she’s undefeated in the UFC. She’s looked increasingly better, and she’s just standing on the verge of her championship opportunity.
“I get it. I would like to see her fight Maycee Barber. But the way she looked last weekend, she looks like she’s ready now to fight for the belt, It’s more likely, in my opinion, that she weighs in as the backup fighter, she trains alongside that championship fight, and waits to have her opportunity.”
Fiorot outstruck Blanchfield over the course of five rounds and stuffed her three takedown attempts. Cormier was impressed with her performance and admits she exceeded his expectations.
“Her takedown defense looked really good,” Cormier said. “Her striking, as we know she is known for, looked amazing. She just seemed to be a step ahead of Erin Blanchfield.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.
