The queen of the flyweights defended her kingdom. Valentina Shevchenko welcomed Zhang Weili to the heavier weight class in smothering fashion, turning away the challenger via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) in the UFC 322 co-main event.
The victory is Shevchenko’s third straight and ninth career title defense across her two reigns. In front of a loudly pro-Weili crowd, Shevchenko spent much of the five rounds peppering Weili with kicks to keep her at bay, and then stapling the former strawweight champion to the mat on successful takedown attempts.
All five rounds ended with Weili looking up at the Madison Square Garden ceiling. Shevchenko became the first woman in UFC history to tally 60 career takedowns in the process.
Weili, who spent her last five bouts reigning over the strawweight division, looked overpowered on the ground and too slow on the feet. For each successful elbow she landed in the clinch, Shevchenko had a slamming takedown in response to neutralize every threat.
Shevchenko dropped her flyweight title to Alexa Grasso in 2023 and then fought Grasso to a draw in their rematch before winning the belt back in 2024. An undeniable future Hall of Famer, Shevchenko now adds Weili’s name to an impressive resume that includes Holly Holm, Julianna Peña and Joanna Jędrzejczyk.
