Valentina Shevchenko Ready For Fight With “Real Professional” Joanna Jedrzejczyk

This past weekend was not a pleasant one for Valentina Shevchenko.

She was scheduled to co-main event the UFC 228 pay-per-view from Dallas, Texas. Shevchenko was to challenge Nicco Montano for the UFC women’s flyweight title. Instead, Montano was hospitalized during her weight cut and removed from the card.

Montano was stripped of her title and UFC President Dana White says Shevchenko will challenge for the vacant title soon. Speaking to The Ariel Helwani MMA Show, Shevchenko said she’s “moving on” from Montano at this point:

“I’m moving on,” she said. “If at some point she will show that she deserves this fight, that she really knows where she’s going and is ready for this fight — I think she is not ready for this fight, but if in the future she will show it, I will think about it.”

Many have speculated that Shevchenko will challenge Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the vacant 125-pound title. Shevchenko said she’s ready to fight “a real professional fighter” in her former muay-thai opponent – who she has beaten three times:

“The division has to move, the division has to fight and the belt has to be in play. The fight for the belt has to happen before the end of the year. I will gladly fight Joanna because she’s a real professional fighter,” she added.