Valentina Shevchenko isn’t impressed by Maycee Barber’s recent snub.
During her UFC Seattle press duties, Barber took a somewhat random shot at the Flyweight champion. Shevchenko and Ronda Rousey have exchanged words recently over UFC pay and OnlyFans, and Barber decided to side with “Rowdy.”
“Ronda Rousey is the reason why Valentina gets to fight in the UFC,” Barber said. “And Valentina’s lack of personality is the reason why Valentina has an OnlyFans.”
It hasn’t taken long for Shevchenko to respond.
“Study history, silly baby!” Shevchenko replied on X. “By the time your ‘idol’ first stepped into the octagon as amateur fighter, I was already World MMA Champion with 7-0 pro record!”
There’s some truth to both sides of the argument. Shevchenko is factually accurate in her record prior to Rousey competing in amateur MMA, although I cannot verify the legitimacy of her “World MMA Champion” status. Still, she’s a definite combat sports OG who has been fighting in one form or another for more than 20 years now. However, Rousey is the athlete who convinced Dana White to bring women’s MMA into the UFC fold, so who knows if Shevchenko would’ve ever gotten the opportunity to fight inside the Octagon and collect all those rubies without the first-ever UFC women’s Bantamweight champion.
Does any of this read like good buildup for a fight? Barber has won seven in a row heading into her bout this evening, a rematch versus former champion Alexa Grasso. One more win could put her in immediate title contention, so there’s a chance that Shevchenko vs. Barber could take place somewhere other than social media in the near future.
