Every week I do a mailbag column, but some weeks, I go off on such a tangent answering one question that I don't really have the space to answer any other ones. This is one of those weeks.
MMA
Opinion: Valentina Shevchenko can save women’s MMA by not returning to 125 pounds
Published
3 weeks agoon
Valentina Shevchenko can save all of women's MMA with one weird trick
I think the women's flyweight and strawweight divisions are better off without Valentina and Weili. The divisions really open up without the two dominant, minimally-active champs. While jogging this morning, I listened to a podcast that had a guest cohost propose Valentina should move up to bantamweight and face the winner of Kayla vs. Amanda, and he claimed it would solve multiple problems. Do you agree with his take?
I do agree with this take. That sounds like a wise and brilliant man. (It's me; I'm the guy he's referring to).
For those of you who watch our shows, this will not be a new take for you, but I wanted to write about it anyway because I genuinely believe this to be one of my greatest ideas ever. Even better than MMAjors, and those are gold: The UFC should sit down with Valentina Shevchenko and politely inform her that her services are no longer needed at 125 pounds.
“WHAT?!†you say, shocked and appalled that I would disrespect one of the greatest fighters in history in such a manner. But that's only because you don't have the vision; you can't see what I see.
Look out at the state of women's MMA right now. Just look at it. Would you say the three women's weight classes in the UFC are thriving? Of course not. They are arguably the worst they've ever been. Strawweight and bantamweight are populated by many of the same names from nearly a decade ago, and flyweight is stuck living under the oppressive yoke of, in my opinion, the greatest female fighter of all time. There's no juice, no excitement, and very little intrigue. We've started to get some new blood coming up, but those are still just seeds; the harvest is not yet ready.
But dear reader, what if I told you that I can inject a shot of life into ALL THREE women's divisions with just one move: forcing Shevchenko to move up to 135 pounds.
Think about it. Women's bantamweight is probably the worst weight class in the entire sport right now. I mean, it has NOTHING going on outside of the title fight between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes that was just announced for UFC 334. That fight rocks, but what comes next? Will Harrison or Nunes stick around to fight Joselyne Edwards? Would anyone care if she did?
No, women's bantamweight needs any port in the storm to stay afloat, and the only remotely interesting or viable port right now is Shevchenko. If Nunes wins, she and Shevy have history, and that trilogy is for the undisputed WMMA GOAT belt. If Harrison wins, she gets a chance to add another legend to a resumé that's sorely lacking in them. And for Shevchenko, it's a chance to do the one thing she hasn't done and make her career unparalleled.
But Shevchenko moving up does so much more than save bantamweight (at least for another year); think about what it does for flyweight. Dominant champions are good for MMA, but they're bad for divisions. When every fight feels like a predetermined win, the only excitement for fans is the rare upset, and the vain hope of them.
We look back in awe of Demetrious Johnson and Anderson Silva and Jon Jones, but I lived through those title reigns, and I remember the general malaise around many of those fights because we knew what would happen. Shevchenko has mostly lived in that zone for the past eight years (with a two-year break for the Alexa Grasso trilogy). Shevchenko's greatness has dimmed the shine of dozens of other fighters, and the possible intrigue they could bring.
When the UFC first announced that Shevchenko was vacating the title, I thought it was it was transparent and silly (and it is), but then my very next thought was, “Man, flyweight's kinda fun if she's not there anymore.†When the cat's away, the mice can play, and imagine how much more interesting 125 pounds gets when Natalia Silva, Alexa Grasso, Erin Blanchfield, Manon Fiorot, Wang Cong, and others are suddenly in a Queen of the Hill battle royale instead of each pushing a Sisyphean boulder up Mount Shevchenko?
But the true beauty of this move is the knock-on effects, because if Shevchenko is gone from 125 pounds, then that means Zhang Weili doesn't need to go back to 115.
Like Shevy, Zhang's presence at strawweight, at this point, does more harm than good, because she's simply so much better than everyone that the rest of the weight class has no room to grow. It's hilarious that Mackenzie Dern is a UFC champion at this point, but it's significantly more interesting to see which of these various contenders will unseat her than it is to watch an endless parade of lambs to the Zhang slaughterhouse.
And like Shevchenko with Silva or Cong, if you send Zhang back down to 115 to reclaim the title, then it just reveals what a mummer's farce the Dern title reign was. Everyone already believes Dern to be a paper champion, but better for that to be idle chatter than prove them all right by sending her to the gallows. And for what? Who else is there for Zhang to fight until Fatima Kline levels up?
No, the answer is simple, my friends: for the good of the sport, Valentina Shevchenko needs to move back up to 135 pounds. Sit her cageside at Madison Square Garden as a statement of intent, and let's have “Bullet†save the sport.
Thanks for reading, and thank you to everyone who sent in questions! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you're in luck, because every week I put a prompt into The Feed for your questions. Fire them there, and I'll answer the best ones in the Mailbag and try to get to the rest in the responses.
You may like
MMA
UFC Vegas 122: Start time, Paramount+ stream & full fight card
Published
9 hours agoon
October 11, 2026
MMA
Belal Muhammad shares nasty image of Brendan Allen’s staph infection prior to UFC Vegas 122 win
Published
11 hours agoon
October 11, 2026
Brendan Allen was dealing with a lot more than high stakes ahead of his big main event bout this past Saturday in Las Vegas.
Allen faced fellow surging middleweight contender Christian Leroy Duncan in the UFC Vegas 122 headliner at the Meta APEX. In a back-and-forth battle, Allen was able to get the victory with a fifth-round rear-naked choke submission to earn his fourth straight win.
There were moments in the fight where Allen looked like he couldn't get out of first gear, and Allen's teammate and friend Belal Muhammad shared why that could've been — revealing Allen entered fight week with a gnarly staph infection and had to compete on antibiotics. Check out the image below, which was shown in the original Twitter post, but then switched out with a different photo.
“What people don't know is Brendan was dealing with a staph infection since Tuesday of fight week,†Muhammad wrote. “Had to get on antibiotics, still has 5 days left on them, and despite all that adversity, went out there and got the finish. Never complained, never made excuses, just found a way to win. That's the heart of a champion. Proud of my brother.â€
Allen called for a fight with former champion Dricus du Plessis following the victory. Duncan's five-fight win streak came to an end during his game showing in his first UFC headliner.
MMA
Andre Fili discusses not landing extra shots after epic UFC knockout: ‘I’m a criminal, but I’m not a piece of s***’
Published
19 hours agoon
October 11, 2026
Andre Fili knows where to draw the line.
On Saturday, Fili scored possibly the best knockout of his career, knocking out Kai Kamaka III with a head kick on the main card of UFC Vegas 122. The finish was brutal, putting Kamaka out before he even hit the canvas, but as he rushed forward to finish the fight, Fili pulled up before landing any follow-up shots, realizing Kamaka was unconscious.
At his post-fight press conference afterward, Fili expounded on the moment.
“I say this all the time: I'm a criminal, but I'm not a piece of shit,†Fili said. “I don't litter. I treat people with respect. And when I knock someone out, there's no reason to land that extra shot. He's got kids, he's got a wife, he's got a future outside of fighting. It's just not necessary, man. I hope he's OK. I didn't even really want to watch the replay back.
“Hurting people is part of the sport. I like being good at fighting. I like winning fights. I like getting paid to win fights. I like being on TV. Hurting people is a byproduct of that; it's not a driving force for me. So I'm not gonna land that extra shot.â€
Widely seen as one of the “good guys†of MMA, Fili has been a UFC veteran since 2013, and seemed to be getting emotional during his post-fight scrum. When asked about why, Fili explained.
“I poured everything I am, and everything I have into this performance, and I just really — I'm not scared of anybody in that cage,†Fili said. “Any apprehension or nerves or excitement or butterflies, it's all because I want to perform. I want to make my people proud, I want to make myself proud. I want to perform the way I know I can perform. And when it works out that way, it feels really good.
“And now I'm making enough money to where I can change the trajectory of my entire family. I come from violence and drug abuse and poverty. I live below the poverty line in America, which I know is different from being in some of these other countries, but it's below the poverty line nonetheless, and I'm here to break some generational curses. This shit's hard work.â€
Tim Tszyu Set for World Title Shot Against Boxings Oldest Champion After Victory Over Spence
UFC Vegas 122: Start time, Paramount+ stream & full fight card
Belal Muhammad shares nasty image of Brendan Allen’s staph infection prior to UFC Vegas 122 win
Tim Tszyu Set for World Title Shot Against Boxings Oldest Champion After Victory Over Spence
UFC Vegas 122: Start time, Paramount+ stream & full fight card
Belal Muhammad shares nasty image of Brendan Allen’s staph infection prior to UFC Vegas 122 win
Trending
-
Boxing2 days agoMax Kellermans 27-Year-Old Opinion on Boxings Cancer Controversy
-
MMA2 days agoJosh Hokit rips Alexander Volkov, teases move to light heavyweight
-
Boxing1 day agoFloyd Schofield vs Lucas Bahdi: Live Results and Fight Updates
-
MMA2 days agoBrendan Allen reacts to Damian Pinas’ callout: ‘You ain’t getting this, you’ve got to earn it’
-
Boxing1 day agoVergil Ortiz Jr. Focuses on Fight Frequency Over Opponent Quality
-
Boxing1 day agoFloyd Schofield Jr. vs. Lucas Bahdi: Live Results and Highlights Update
-
Boxing1 day agoSergio Mendoza Defeats Ricardo Sandoval in Stunning Five-Round Showdown
-
Boxing18 hours agoFloyd Schofield Triumphs in Uneven Return, Claims WBA Belt


