UFC 315: Manon Fiorot media day interview
UFC 315 co-headliner Manon Fiorot spoke to MMA Junkie and reporters at media day for her women’s flyweight title fight vs. Valentina Shevchenko on Saturday in Montreal.
MONTREAL – Manon Fiorot is ready to spoil women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko’s plans at UFC 315.
Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) challenges Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Bell Centre in Montreal. Fiorot has been campaigning for a title fight for a while, but Shevchenko’s trilogy series with Alexa Grasso postponed her pursuit. She then had to hear fans rally to see a super fight between Shevchenko and strawweight champion Zhang Weili (26-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC).
Fortunately for Fiorot, she wasn’t passed up even though talks of a potential superfight bothered her. Not only will she look to dethrone Shevchenko, but she also wants to take the Weili fight from her, too.
“That clearly angered me,” Fiorot told MMA Junkie and other reporters in French during Wednesday’s media day. “Several times when I’ve wanted to fight (Shevchenko), Weili’s name kept coming up, but it’s a good opportunity since it’ll be me who fights her after this fight.”
Fiorot is the betting favorite over Shevchenko, which is unexpected to many considering Shevchenko’s reign over the division. However, Fiorot isn’t surprised with the odds.
“No, I don’t really pay attention to the odds, but for me it’s always better to be the favorite,” Fiorot said. “I think it’s because my past three fights have been total domination in comparison to her, who’s had closer and tougher fights.”
Fiorot has always wanted to fight Shevchenko. Although it was a long wait to get her shot, the stars aligned for Fiorot after Shevchenko was able to reclaim her flyweight title by defeating Grasso at UFC 306.
“I really wanted Valentina because when I got to the UFC, she was the champion, so it’s important,” Fiorot said. “She’s a legend, and I really want to beat her to take that belt.”
