Valentina Shevchenko has called Khabib Nurmagomedov 'boring' and told him 'it's not right' after getting wind of his controversial ring girl comments.
Nurmagomedov, 32, was filmed making those inflammatory remarks in a video posted on Twitter last week.
"Look, I don't want to offend anyone, ring girls are the most useless people in martial arts," he said to a press conference in Moscow.
"What is their purpose? I have a question. You can show that it is the second round on the screen. I realise that is a history. History knows many mistakes.
"We read history to avoid mistakes of the past in the future. If we look in the history, it says they are useless.
"That is my personal opinion."
Nurmagomedov's stance provoked a strong reaction on social media, with Conor McGregor and Michael Bisping among those who publicly disagreed with the former UFC lightweight champion.
Shevchenko, who captured the vacant flyweight title in December 2018, has now had her say - and she believes Nurmagomedov wouldn't be 'where he is right now' if it weren't for their presence in the sport.
“They were since the beginning of the UFC, they were since the beginning of everything,” Shevchenko told Fanatics View.
“And to say they don’t belong to martial arts, it’s so bad, it’s so not right, because they are part [of it].
"And it’s kind of like, without all of this, any fighter would not be in the position of where he is right now.
"If there wouldn’t be ring girls, there wouldn’t be lights, fans, sounds. It’s just boring, it’s just boring to see this kind of type.
"But all these little details, they fulfil the full picture. That’s why there is no discussion, ring girls, they are part of the biggest promotions, smallest promotions of anything.”
Shevchenko, 33, is expected to defend her title against Lauren Murphy at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 25.
As for Nurmagomedov, the 32-year-old has announced plans to open more mixed martial arts schools all over the world.
He hopes to honour the memory of his late father Abdulmanap, who passed away due to complications from coronavirus earlier last year.
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