When it comes to combat sports, Valentina Shevchenko is up there as one of the most influential female fighters.The 34-year-old is the current UFC Women's Flyweight Champion and is number one in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.'Bullet' is a versatile fighter, having competed in Muay Thai and boxing as well as MMA, but she also boasts some lesser known talents outside of the octagon.
A Muay Thai legend
In 2003, Shevchenko broke onto the combat sports scene by making her Muay Thai and kickboxing debuts. She won eight IFMA World Championships over the course of 11 years, including five back-to-back gold medals from 2006 up until 2010.
She is regarded as one of the best female Muay Thai fighters in the world.
Shevchenko also enjoyed a brief stint as a boxer but her time inside the ring came under criticism as she would often use Muay Thai techniques and grappling tactics on her opponents. These occurrences went unpenalised, which caused friction within the women's boxing space.
JACKSONVILLE, FL - APRIL 24: Valentina Shevchenko of Kyrgystan celebrates after beating Jessica Andrade of Brazil during the Womens Flyweight Title bout of UFC 261 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on April 24, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images)
During her time as Muay Thai fighter, Shevchenko beat future UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk on three occasions.
Fast forward to 2018 and Shevchenko met with JJ again, this time inside the octagon to compete for the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship.
Bullet reflected on her Muay Thai victories over Jędrzejczyk and hoped her experience against the Polish fighter in their earlier days would be beneficial during the title fight.
Sure enough, after a unanimous decision, Shevchenko became the new Women's Flyweight Champion — a title she has held for more than three years and defended against the likes of Jessica Andrade and Katlyn Chookagian, who are both inside the top ten in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Film directing and acting
As well as a rich history of success across multiple fighting disciplines, Shevchenko has also worked in the film industry.
The flyweight champion has an undergraduate degree in Film Directing from the National Academy of Arts of the Kyrgyz Republic.
In December 2021, 13 years after she graduated with her degree, the university awarded Shevchenko the title of Honoured Professor.
The degree in Film Directing led Shevchenko to making her movie debut in a Netflix original featuring Halle Berry.
The Hollywood film star played the lead role in the drama Bruised, which tells the story of a former UFC fighter who makes her return to the ring. Berry's character faces Lucia "Lady Killer" Chavez, played by Shevchenko.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 13: Halle Berry (L) and Valentina Shevchenko attend the 2021 AFI Fest Official Screening of Netflix's "Bruised" at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 13, 2021 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Netflix)
Bruised earned praise over the acting and directing, but faced some criticism regarding the screenplay, resulting in a 51 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and 6.1/10 on IMDb.
Shevchenko has also appeared in UFC television series Into the Fire and Countdown to UFC.
Upcoming title defence
Away from the acting stage, Shevchenko's full focus now lies on defending her title next weekend.
Back in January, Bullet confirmed she was ready to face her next opponent, having previously defeated the likes of Andrade, Holly Holm and Julianna Pena.
The Women's Flyweight Champion will be looking to extend her unbeaten run against Brazil's Taila Santos at UFC 275 on June 12th.