UFC Uruguay | Valentina Shevchenko preparing for any surprises Liz Carmouche may have

Valentina Shevchenko is preparing for a different Liz Carmouche.

In the main event of UFC Uruguay, the flyweight title will be on the line. It will also be a rematch nine years in the making. In Shevchenko and Carmouche’s first fight, it was Carmouche who won by doctor stoppage, yet with no video, that outcome has become a subject of debate.

But, this is a new fight, and both women say they are different fighters today. So, Shevchenko knows this will be a tough fight but is still eyeing a finish.

“Liz is a strong opponent and she’s a well-rounded MMA Fighter. She has very powerful wrestling and grappling,” Shevchenko said on BJPENN.com Radio. “So it’s gonna be a good fight as I say every time. I’m preparing for anything, any kind of surprises that she’s preparing for me, I’m ready for it. I will just make my game plan happen. And as soon as I have the opportunity to finish the fight, I will do it. That’s why I’m training very hard every day. To push myself to the limit and make myself a better fighter each day.”

Although she is eyeing a finish, Valentina Shevchenko knows Liz Carmouche is a tough opponent given her army background. The champion believes this will be a hard fight for her, but as long as she follows her game plan she will get her hand raised.

“You know I don’t think that she’s gonna go forward just wrestle me and try to make me tired. You know, she’s an army girl. She has a lot of discipline and she’s going to do tricky things,” she explained. “This fight, for example, it’s not about one fighter saying, ‘okay this is my plan game and I will follow it, it’s not the case. It’s more of, ‘here is the fight it’s about making your opponent commit to a mistake and then to use this mistake.’ This is my game plan, this is much smarter.

“Like I said before, when you go into the fight you can go into exchanges easily. It doesn’t take a lot of knowledge and it doesn’t take a lot of strategy. It’s like fifty-fifty. You can be successful or your opponent can be successful,” Shevchenko continued. “It’s not the smartest thing. You can do that easily. Everyone can do it but the hardest thing of the fight is to choose the right tactic and to react properly in the moment when your opponent changes their game plan and how great you can adapt and change your game plan. I think this is what defines the level of a professional fighter.”

Who do you think will win the fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Liz Carmouche?

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This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/9/2019.