Valentina Shevchenko says first Liz Carmouche fight ended by a ‘lucky strike’
Valentina Shevchenko is set to defend her flyweight title in the main event of UFC Uruguay this Saturday. There, she will take on Liz Carmouche in what will be a rematch of their fight from nine years ago.
The fight took place in the U.S. regional scenes and there is no video of the fight anywhere. All we have to know what happened is what Shevchenko and Carmouche say. Yet, to no surprise, they are saying different things. The champion believes the fight should have never been stopped and it was a lucky strike. Meanwhile, the American believes it was a legitimate stoppage and any ref would have stopped the fight.
Of course, for those who don’t know, they both say Carmouche landed an up-kick that cut Shevchenko above her eyebrow. But, how serious the cut is, is what we don’t know.
Now, Valentina Shevchenko recently did an interview where she explained her side of the fight.
“It was a lucky strike for sure and I even felt the hit. We continued the fight because it was like a minute or two before the end and we continued grappling. After the end of the round the doctors came in and saw all the blood, and it was from the cut on my eyebrow, so they decided to stop the fight. I was against this,” Shevchenko said on BJPENN.com Radio. “I felt that I was able to continue the fight but they made their decision. So when they decided you can’t continue, there’s nothing you can do. So what happened, happened. Since then a lot of time has passed and now I have my opportunity to create the new decision, the new history of the fight and I feel good.”
Although on the records it says Carmouche won via TKO, Shevchenko doesn’t agree. Yet, she has to accept that as a result and now focus on the rematch. But, neither believe it is a rematch. Instead, they are viewing it is a completely new fight as both have grown so much as fighters since then, and the fight happened at a different weight class.
So, even though Carmouche has beaten Shevchenko before, the flyweight queen is not viewing this fight as revenge. Instead, she says this is any other fight and isn’t worried about the past at all.
“You know, for me it’s not the revenge, it’s not an emotional thing, it’s not a personal thing. What was before, it was before, I never carried it with me through the years. I just like to keep moving forward and for me it’s going to be another challenge,” she said. “Another fight to defend my belt and keep the belt for as much time as I can. So it’s just going to be another fight for me. That’s why I’m training hard every day and every time thinking about my mindset.”
“What success you have in previous fights is already in the past and now you are starting everything over. You cannot carry emotions or feelings from the last fight because you’re starting everything over with a new opponent,” she continued. “A different body type, different mindset, that’s why you have to be ready for anything. You have to prepare your body well, you have to prepare your mental well. All of this to be successful in your fight. This is what I’m working on every single day of my training.”
Ultimately, many are favoring Shevchenko to win this fight, but there is no question, Liz Carmouche has proven she is one of the best in the world as of late. However, the champ knows it will be a different result this time.
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The Scrap’s Cole Shelton is a full-time MMA writer for various news outlets. Make sure to follow Cole on Twitter (@ColeShelton91) for a variety of content.
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