Valentina Shevchenko Says She’s Prepared For Holly Holm

Valentina Shevchenko spoke with MMAjunkie about her fight with Holly Holm at UFC on FOX 20. Some highlights are below:

On training on after her longtime coach was shot during an armed robbery attempt: “The first few days, it was impossible. It was really, really hard because I couldn’t think about anything, I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t train. I just spent all the time with Fedotov in the hospital. But I knew that I had to get through this, and I knew that I had to go forward. But for one week or 10 days, it’s very difficult. Once I got back to training, I started to focus on my training and my preparation. … I tried to close everything around me, all feelings, and I put all of my mind on training.”

On being prepared for the fight: “I can fight standing, I can fight wrestling, I can fight grappling. Everything that can help me win the fight, I will use it. But I think it will be an interesting fight between two strikers. Holly Holm for a lot of time was a world champion in boxing. I am a 17-time world muay Thai champion. I think it will be interesting. I prepared very hard for this fight. To me, it means a lot and I am really prepared emotionally and really concentrated for this fight. It’s a big responsibility to fight in the main event of a UFC ‘Fight Night.’ So I am ready 200 percent.”

On the competitiveness of the division: “This means the bantamweight division is very strong and it builds stronger and stronger every day. That’s why it’s very difficult competition inside this division, and I think it’s very good for women’s martial arts and we can see how big it is around the world.”