Is Valentina Shevchenko a spy? Here is what she said

08 February 2020

UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko is all set to defend her title at UFC 247 this weekend. She will be defending her title against Katlyn Chookagian in the co-main event of the show which will be headlined by the Light Heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes.

Ahead of her fight, Shevchenko took out some time to clear the air surrounding a doubt that former UFC Welterweight Ben Askren recently raised. Askren had jokingly put forward the idea of Shevchenko being a spy due to the long list of talents that she had.

“She speaks multiple languages, she’s a weapons expert, she flies planes, come on man, shes a Russian asset, isn’t she?,” Askren had noted.

During the UFC 247 Media day, Valentina addressed the statement from Askren and noted that she is not a spy. However, she said that James Bond is an inspiration to her.

“James Bond is a universal person who can do anything. Like I said yesterday, driving car, driving plane, sailboat, like doing anything. Shoot from whatever arm he wants. This is my kind of motivation in life to be a kind of similar person. To know more, to learn, to get different knowledge is what inspired me a lot and that’s why I keep my lifestyle, what I have right now the same way,” Shevchenko said.

When asked about her fight with Katlyn, Shevchenko had the following to say.

“She’s an MMA fighter. She fights standing up, she fights on the ground. She might think she’ll have an advantage because she’s bigger and has a longer reach, but she has no advantage, she’s mistaken. I know how to adjust my distance very well and make this work in my favor.”

The 31-year-old Shevchenko currently holds a record of 18-3 to her name and will be looking to improve it when she fights this weekend at UFC 247.

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