Valentina Shevchenko Defends UFC Women’s Flyweight Title at UFC 322 with Unanimous Decision Victory

Still the champion! MMA athlete Valentina Shevchenko defeats Weili Zhang to defend the UFC Women's Flyweight World Championship title at UFC 322 in New York City on Saturday night. In the Co-Main Event fight, the 37-year-old from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, went the distance to earn a unanimous decision victory after five intense rounds.

UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev was contested in front of a live crowd of 20,664 spectators inside sold-out Madison Square Garden in New York City. Featuring two UFC World Championship fights and a total of five bouts on the Main Card, the spectacle was broadcast live on ESPN pay-per-view. 

Monster Energy’s Shevchenko (26-4) came to New York City as the reigning UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion. The MMA icon from Kyrgyzstan most recently defended the title at UFC 315 in Montreal against Manon Fiorot.

Saturday night's opponent, 36-year-old Zhang (26-4) from Handan, China, came to New York City as the former UFC Strawweight champion. She most recently defeated Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312 in February. Zhang vacated her 115-pound title to challenge Shevchenko and was riding a five-fight win streak since beating Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 275 in June 2022.

The title fight between Shevchenko and Zhang unfolded as one of the most anticipated bouts in UFC women's fighting history. From the start, Shevchenko showed her strategy and fighting intelligence by focusing on her superior grappling skills.

Saturday night's opponent, 36-year-old Zhang (26-4) from Handan, China, came to New York City as the former UFC Strawweight champion. She most recently defeated Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312 in February. Zhang vacated her 115-pound title to challenge Shevchenko and was riding a five-fight win streak since beating Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 275 in June 2022.

The title fight between Shevchenko and Zhang unfolded as one of the most anticipated bouts in UFC women's fighting history. From the start, Shevchenko showed her strategy and fighting intelligence by focusing on her superior grappling skills.

"I was prepared for the hardest challenge. I knew I couldn't exchange with Weili. She has super punching power. That's why I was working very hard and smart to use distance and wrestling," said Monster Energy's Shevchenko upon retaining her UFC Women's Flyweight World Championship title at UFC 322.

The victory marks Shevchenko's 11^th win in a UFC title fight and her second successful title defense of the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship belt. She holds the top spot in UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings and now ties Amanda Nunes for the most wins in UFC title-fight history at 11 victories. Shevchenko earned the UFC Women’s Flyweight belt at UFC 306 in September 2024 by defeating Alexa Grasso and had previously held the title from 2018 to 2023.