Valentina Shevchenko added to her legacy by defending her UFC women’s flyweight championship, defeating Manon Fiorot via unanimous decision at UFC 315 on May 10, 2025.
Shevchenko subsequently addressed a pre-fight bet between her and Fiorot, which was initiated by the French fighter and was a major talking point heading into UFC 315.
Valentina Shevchenko Wouldn’t Be Petty Regarding Manon Fiorot’s UFC 315 Bet
In the build-up to their long-awaited matchup, France’s Fiorot — who was unbeaten in the UFC organization before UFC 315 — had taken a jibe at Shevchenko. “The Beast” had dared Shevchenko to bet that the latter would have to retire if she (Fiorot) won their fight.
In response, Shevchenko fired back by suggesting that if she won, then Fiorot would have to retire. Well, they did finally clash inside the Octagon this past Saturday, and Shevchenko successfully defended her UFC gold by outpointing Fiorot.
During the UFC 315 post-fight press conference, “Bullet” cleared the air about their pre-fight bet. Shevchenko explained that despite the bet, she didn’t want Fiorot to retire.
Speculating that someone had likely put the idea of the retirement bet in Fiorot’s mind, as a part of pre-fight trash talk, Shevchenko stated, “And I would like to add one more thing to be very clear. So before the fight, Manon told that if she won, I retire. I respond her, ‘If I won, she retire.’ So I completely don’t want her retire.”
She continued, “So this is what I really don’t want her to follow her words. Because I feel it’s unfair for the fighter because of some, like, I don’t know. Someone put in her mouth to promote the fight, or something like that, and now she will be feeling that she has to retire. No. I completely, like, no, no. Don’t follow your words. Please stay fighting.”
Shevchenko Could Potentially Fight Zhang Weili or Natalia Silva Next
Around the 2:55-minute mark of her UFC 315 post-fight press conference video posted to the UFC’s official YouTube channel, Shevchenko signaled that she’d like fan input in determining her next challenger. The 37-year-old indicated that she’d like fans to send her messages as to who they want to see her fight out of potential title shot frontrunners, Zhang Weili and Natalia Silva.
She said, “Before coming to here [the press conference], everyone was saying Weili or Natalia, like, in as a contender. So, yeah, I don’t know … Maybe fans can play some role in that.”
Silva notably competed at UFC 315, defeating former UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision. Meanwhile, UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Zhang has long been lobbying for a flyweight title shot. While the UFC has yet to announce who Shevchenko would defend her title against next, both Silva and Zhang have expressed their interest in fighting her.