Valentina Shevchenko has accused Amanda Nunes of avoiding a trilogy fight with her because she got 'gifted the victory' in their rematch.
The UFC flyweight champion made those astonishing claims straight after her fight with Lauren Murphy, questioning Nunes' apparent lack of desire.
“I kind of feel that she’s doesn’t want too much this fight to happen," Shevchenko, 33, told MMAFighting.
“Because inside of herself, she feels that she was gifted the victory from our second fight.
"Gifted by the judges. She feels that she was beaten by the smaller girl from the smaller weight class and she is a bigger girl.
"It’s kind of like pressure on her from the inside.
“That’s why she kind of like says ‘I [beat] her twice,’ whatever she’s saying.
"But it’s kind of like this camouflages what she’s feeling for real and definitely if you was beaten by someone smaller than you by two [weight classes], it would affect you.
"That’s why I feel she’s kind of like ‘I don’t want that fight happening.’”
Shevchenko's only loss in her past ten fights came against Nunes in 2017.
The Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian was narrowly outpointed by the Brazilian Lioness, losing a close split-decision.
Many felt she had done enough to be handed the victory against Nunes but the judges apparently felt differently and she was left smarting from the loss instead.
She added: “It kind of makes sense exactly this way because if you listen to her interviews all the time, she’s kind of like ‘why do I have to fight her?
"I beat her twice, I don’t have nothing to do with that’ and it’s kind of like when you start to defend yourself in this aggressive style.
"It means that inside of you, you have something saying oh no, you’re guilty. Inside of her, it’s saying that ‘no, you lost that fight.’”
Nunes holds the UFC bantamweight and featherweight titles but will put the former on the line against Julianna Pena on December 11.
If the 33-year-old beats the Venezuelan Vixen, a fight with long-time rival Shevchenko could be lined up.
“This is my goal. I know that when we will have fight next time, it’s going to be I will be ready to do anything,” Shevchenko explained.
“Time passed, I’m a different fighter, she is a different fighter than the last time that we fought.
“In my mind, in my mindset, I don’t have any ‘maybe if …. I will try’ — no, my mind is like only there.
"Only forward. No matter. I have to die [in] there but I have to be in there.”
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