Valentina Shevchenko: Taila Santos ‘Hypnotizing Herself’ to Believe in Potential Upset

Once again, Valentina Shevchenko will enter her latest title defense as a considerable favorite.

Shevchenko, who has long been regarded as one of the top female pound-for-pound talents in the sport, will defend the 125-pound belt against Taila Santos in the UFC 275 co-main event at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, on Saturday night. “Bullet” has authored six consecutive title defenses — all in dominant fashion — but Santos stated that she has found some holes in the champion’s game leading up to their clash.

Shevchenko has heard it all before.

“I think it’s kind of hypnotizing herself, trying to convince there is something there should be,” Shevchenko told reporters at UFC 275 media day (video via MMAjunkie.com). “Like everyone is not perfect. Definitely not everyone is perfect, but all my opponents, they were saying the same – the same over and over.

“It’s like, ‘No one is unbeatable. She has some holes in her game.’ But once they step inside the Octagon, they feel the opposite side. They feel the difference between the fighters and this is the most important. She’s trying to hypnotize herself to convince that there should be, but she’s wrong. It’s not gonna work for her.”

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The 28-year-old Santos has won 19 of her 20 professional bouts and is currently on a four-fight winning streak in UFC competition. Recent triumphs over veterans Joanne Wood and Roxanne Modafferi solidified the Astra Fight Team product as the division’s No. 1 contender. While Santos was a noted finisher on the regional circuit, all but one of her triumphs in the Octagon have gone the distance, a submission of Wood at UFC Fight Night 198.

“It’s the level of competition,” Shevchenko said. “We are speaking of the best league in the world. Here you cannot find easy opponents, easy matchups. There is no weak fighters — (just) best of the best in the world.”

As she prepares to square off against Santos, Shevchenko is happy to share a fight card with former rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The two were familiar foes in muay Thai, and Shevchenko bested the Polish standout at UFC 231 to claim the promotion’s inaugural female flyweight crown. Jedrzejczyk will face Weili Zhang in a rematch of a memorable 2020 bout on the UFC 275 main card.

“I know Joanna through the years. We share our history through muay Thai. It’s kind of like mutual respect,” Shevchenko said. “I respect her as a fighter, hard worker and everything she’s doing. It’s great to fight on the same card, but not as opponents. It’s a good feeling. When you see a good fighter and you respect this fighter, it’s great to see these kind of fighters on the card.”

If Shevchenko defeats Santos, talk will once again turn to “Bullet” moving up a division. Shevchenko owns a victory over current 135-pound queen Julianna Pena and was narrowly defeated by Amanda Nunes in a title tilt at UFC 215. The latter was the last time Shevchenko tasted defeat. Pena and Nunes are expected to square off in a rematch at UFC 277 on July 30.

“No matter what outcome is gonna be in their fight in July, either works for me because it’ll be an interesting fight against Amanda and we have history with Julianna because a few years ago, I submitted her,” Shevchenko said. “Either option is gonna work for me.”