Valentina Shevchenko has a response for Khabib Nurmagomedov dismissing female fighters.
On Thursday, comments from a Nurmagomedov interview circulated on social media regarding his thoughts on women’s MMA. This isn’t the first time the former UFC lightweight champion has been approached about the topic, and he kept the same attitude, suggesting women aren’t suited for combat sports, going as far as to state his belief that they are created “weak” while men are made “strong.”
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The misogynistic comments caught the attention of UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, who offered a stern response to Nurmagomedov on social media:
“Women are weak?!” Shevchenko wrote. “Tell that to my sister—an airline captain. Or tell it to the ”Night Witches” the all-female bomber regiment of World War II, who dropped bombs under the cover of darkness with their engines off, then landed in pitch blackness without landing lights. For this, they earned a reputation for being elusive and deadly. Go ahead, tell them who is stronger.
“It all depends entirely on one’s upbringing. You can just as easily raise a man to be a helpless milksop who is incapable of doing anything. Martial arts represent a warrior tradition where there is no distinction between man and woman. There is only the art itself. That is precisely why people train: To become more graceful, stronger, and wiser—and to ensure that no one ever gets the chance to punch them in the face.”
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Shevchenko and Nurmagomedov are two of the most accomplished fighters in UFC history, with Shevchenko currently in her second reign as flyweight champion with nine total successful title defenses to her name (including seven straight in her first reign). Nurmagomedov, who retired from competition in 2020, finished his fighting career with a spotless 29-0 record, including victories in four UFC lightweight championship bouts.
See more of Shevchenko’s thoughts on the topic below.
