UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko is all ready to go all-in on a clash with fellow titleholder Zhang Weili, but ‘Bullet’ has some questions about how the bout will go down.
Following her dominant showing against Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 in Montreal, Shevchenko is primed to put her belt on the line against Zhang in one of the most anticipated female fights in Octagon history. The likeliest scenario will see ‘Magnum’ move up from her post as the reigning strawweight world champion to challenge Shevchenko for her flyweight title.
But will Zhang have to vacate her 115-pound belt first, or will she have the chance to become just the fifth fighter in UFC history to obtain champ-champ status?
That, we still don’t know, and neither does Shevchenko.
“Zhang Weili is an amazing fighter,” Shevchenko said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “Through her title defenses, losing the belt, getting it back, and continuing to grow-she gets better with every single fight. Definitely, people would love to see that fight.
“As far as I know, before, people could keep their belt and move up to become a double champ. But apparently, it’s not happening anymore. No more double champ, just champ versus champ, but not two belts on the line. This is very new for me, and I really don’t know how it works or how it’s set up.”
Are the days of Champ-Champs over in the UFC?
While there has never been a situation where two titles were on the line in the same fight, aside from when an interim champion is attempting to unify their belt with a division’s established titleholder, the UFC has seen plenty of situations where a champion has moved up or down to try and add another belt to their resume.
However, recent rumors suggest that fighters moving to another division while retaining the title they already hold is no longer a thing, hence why both Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev vacated their respective belts in pursuit of another division’s top prize.
Whether or not that rule applies to Zhang Weili remains to be seen.
