Manon Fiorot respects what Valentina Shevchenko has accomplished in her career, but she feels she — and the rest of the UFC flyweight division — have caught up.
Fiorot challenges Shevchenko for the flyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 315 this Saturday in Montreal. “The Beast” has won all seven of her UFC fights, and arguably has been the top contender at 125 for well over a year, but she had to wait for Shevchenko’s trilogy with Alexa Grasso to conclude.
Shevchenko regained the title with a dominant decision win over Grasso at UFC 306 this past September. Fiorot was asked if Shevchenko’s performance in that fight impressed her.
“No, to be honest, I’m not impressed by her performance,” Fiorot told MMA Fighting. “For me, it’s just lay and pray, and she won the fight, [but] I don’t see a lot of [great things] and stuff like that. Definitely, for me, it’s not a good performance. ...
“Definitely I think she wants to take me down, but I’m trained for that and [you saw that] in my last fight against [Erin] Blanchfield. So I can wrestle, and have [high-level wrestling defense].”
Fiorot returns to action for the first time since a dominant win over Blanchfield in the main event of UFC Atlantic City in March 2024. The 35-year-old says it was a weight lifted off of her shoulders to finally get the call to fight for the title.
As far as Shevchenko goes, Fiorot believes that the champ is no longer the unbeatable version.
“I think she’s not the best woman in the world,” Fiorot explained. “She’s not dominant as she [was] a few years ago because of, perhaps, the level of the division. And when I see her fight against Taila Santos, a split decision and it’s tight and same thing for Grasso and she [went 1-1-1 in the trology].
“So, yeah, definitely the level of the flyweight division is higher than in the past.”
Fiorot was able to defeat Blanchfield by using her size and strength to her advantage — one she believes will be a huge intangible when she shares the octagon with Shevchenko this weekend.
“Definitely you can see her in the face-off [earlier this week], I’m bigger and stronger than her,” Fiorot said. If you take a look at UFC statistics, I [throw] more punches during the fights [than she does]. It’s facts — and I think I have a better cardio, too.”
The time for waiting is over for Fiorot. She no longer has to wait for another Shevchenko vs. Grasso fight, or for strawweight champ Zhang Weili to possibly skip over her in Fiorot’s opportunity to become UFC champion.
Should UFC CEO Dana White wrap that title belt around her waist on Saturday, Fiorot says it will be one of the greatest moments of her life.
“Dream come true,” Fiorot said. “I’ve just [thought about the belt] when I began in UFC in my first fight, so definitely [will be] the dream come true.”
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