Valentina Shevchenko isn’t closing the door on a trilogy with Amanda Nunes but she’s making it clear the fight only happens on her terms.
Fresh off her dominant win at UFC 322, Valentina Shevchenko already has major names lining up for 2026. The flyweight champion put on a masterclass at Madison Square Garden, outclassing Zhang Weili from start to finish to secure her second successful title defense since reclaiming her throne in 2024. In the process, she shut down Zhang’s dream of becoming a two-division champion.
Now, the conversation has flipped. With Zhang denied her shot at double-champ status, fans are wondering if Shevchenko might chase that historic moment for herself. Kayla Harrison openly targeted Shevchenko for the UFC’s White House event in June, especially after “whooping” Amanda Nunes earlier in the year.
If Amanda Nunes manages to reclaim bantamweight gold, Shevchenko could find herself standing across from the “Lioness” for a third time. But she’s not signing on blindly.
Ahead of her UFC 322 victory, Valentina Shevchenko addressed long-standing talk about a trilogy with Nunes.
“When it comes to Amanda Nunes, it will depend on what shape she returns to the octagon in,” Shevchenko said in a Stake interview.
“If she returns in 50 percent shape, I don’t want that fight. I don’t want to fight a fighter who is not at their best.
“I want to fight someone when they are at their best,” she added.
That stance didn’t stop Nunes from throwing her own curveball. After UFC 322, the former champ called out Shevchenko but surprisingly, not at bantamweight. Instead, Nunes teased a massive drop to flyweight after her planned return against Kayla Harrison.
“After I beat KH [Kayla Harrison] I’m going to go down to 125 and take this belt for [the] collection too,” Nunes wrote in the comments of a post.
“Let’s do it, Amanda. Come on. 125,” Shevchenko told Ariel Helwani after UFC 322. “Yeah, let’s do it. Maybe Kayla Harrison will want to go down to 125 and do it as well. I welcome everyone.”
Nunes dropping to 125 would shock a lot of people, especially since she struggled to make 135 in the past before moving up to featherweight. And Shevchenko herself seems unsure the Brazilian will follow through.
“It depends. There are all these circumstances that have to come in,” Shevchenko said. “For now, she likes to talk a lot, and she feels secure. When you’re behind the wall and no one can get to you. She’s still kind of in the half of her retirement. Still saying she’s coming back, but nothing for sure. She feels safe to speak now, and that’s why you cannot ever trust when people speak that much.”
Shevchenko and Nunes share a deep history, with two close fights in 2016 and 2017, both won by Nunes on the scorecards, the second by split decision. Fans have been calling for the trilogy ever since, and now the possibility has returned with a twist: it might even happen at flyweight.
Right now, Valentina Shevchenko is coming off a decisive win over Zhang Weili after defending her belt against Manon Fiorot and reclaiming it from Alexa Grasso. She’s in her championship groove again, and she’s open to anyone, as long as they show up ready.
