Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Valentina Shevchenko Open to Kayla Harrison’s Challenge After Dominant UFC 322 Win Over Zhang Weili

Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Valentina Shevchenko crushed Zhang Weili at UFC 322 on November 15, in New York. The flyweight queen swept every round on all scorecards for a unanimous win. Size was the big edge- Shevchenko used her longer frame to drag Weili down and control her on the mat for most of the fight. Weili, the ex-strawweight champ, could not escape or land big shots, while Shevchenko looked calm and sharp the whole time.

This made two things cleared; Valentina may need a much greater challenge and Weili is arguably the GOAT in her division, but not so much in the Flyweight division.

Valentina Shevchenko has tied Amanda Nunes for most title fight wins in UFC women's history with 11 👊

[ #VeChain #UFC322 | @BulletValentina ] pic.twitter.com/7Iwx9v6iVl
— UFC (@ufc) November 16, 2025

Shevchenko Breaks Record and Eyes Next Move

Shevchenko earned her ninth flyweight title defense, now the most for any woman in UFC history. She ranks fifth overall for title defense and called it her toughest camp ever, back-to-back with little rest. “I was preparing for war,” she said “it (training camp) was so hard that it helped me to have a less hard fight.”

The win locked her as the top women’s pound-for-pound fighter and boosted her GOAT claim ever further than it was before. She currently plans a short break to head old injuries before picking the next opponent and the next step. While good flyweight contenders like Erin Blanchfield and Natalia Silva await, the talk quickly turned to bantamweight.

Should Valentina Shevchenko Chase Two-Division Dream or Trilogy Fire?

Shevchenko is open to chasing a second belt at 135 pounds as declared by her in the post-fight conference but it is not going to be easy. Top options for her currently include champ Kayla Harrison or returning legend and UFC’s arguable GOAT Amanda Nunes.

Kayla Harrison will be a totally different challenge for Shevchenko as she’s never faced her before and against Nunes it’ll be a trilogy fight as Shevchenko lost dropped both bouts against the Brazilian.

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Harrison previously challenged Shevchenko for a super fight at the UFC White House event in 2026, and even though Shevchenko called it a “possibility,” it is still undecided. She will meet her team in a week to decide if she wants to stay a flyweight or move up for history. Either path she takes will keep her in the greatest-ever talk.

Kayla Harrison

UFC

UFC 322

Valentina Shevchenko

Eric Divakaran

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