Valentina Shevchenko

Valentina Anatolievna Shevchenko (born March 7, 1988) is a Kyrgyzstani and Peruvian professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. She currently competes in the women's Flyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the former UFC Women's Flyweight Champion. As of March 7, 2023, she is ranked #1 in the women’s flyweight rankings, and as of August 22, 2023, she is ranked #3 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings. Early and personal life Shevchenko was born in Frunze, Kirghiz SSR, Soviet Union on March 7, 1988, to a Russian-Ukrainian family, but she has described herself as being Russian in a Russian interview and her native language is Russian. Her family had Soviet, and later Kyrgyzstan citizenship. Her mother Elena Shevchenko is the president of Kyrgyzstan's national Muay Thai association and a former multiple-time Muay Thai champion. Her father Anatoly Shevchenko served in the Pacific Fleet of the Soviet Navy for three years during the Cold War, and played for the Kyrgyzstan national football team. After becoming interested in combat sports at an early age, Valentina began Taekwondo at age 5, under the influence of her older sister Antonina and her mother, who both participated in the sport. At age 12 she branched out into Muay Thai kickboxing and then freestyle Vale Tudo. Her kickboxing career began in 2000 when, also at age 12, she knocked out a 22-year-old opponent, earning her the moniker "Bullet" from her trainer Pavel Fedotov because of her speed in the ring. She traveled to Peru with Fedotov and Antonina in 2007, where they became martial arts teachers, and Fedotov eventually relocated his team there permanently. She gained Peruvian citizenship in 2008 and is fluent in Russian, English, and Spanish. Shevchenko earned an undergraduate degree in Film Directing from the National Academy of Arts of the Kyrgyz Republic. In December 2021, the university awarded her the title of an Honored Professor.