Kenny Florian thinks Cynthia Calvillo needs more experience before Valentina Shevchenko bout
Cynthia Calvillo may have knocked off the number one ranked UFC women’s flyweight but Kenny Florian feels a title shot is too soon.
Calvillo is coming off what is considered to be the most important win of her pro MMA career. For the first time during her run with the UFC, Calvillo made the trip up to 125 pounds to take on Jessica Eye. Calvillo passed the test with flying colors, earning a unanimous decision win.
During the Anik & Florian podcast, “KenFlo” admitted that he believes Calvillo would be best served to win a few more fights at flyweight before being matched up with Valentina Shevchenko.
“I think Shevchenko has a certain skill level and experience level that is far superior to that of a lot of people in her division,” Florian said when discussing Cynthia Calvillo’s chances against Shevchenko at this stage. “I think it would be wise for Calvillo to get a little bit more experience. She’s certainly at the top of the list but it also doesn’t necessarily mean she’s ready for someone on the level of a Shevchenko.”
To Calvillo’s credit, she isn’t demanding a flyweight title opportunity. In fact, the new 125-pound addition simply wants to stay active as she told a reporter for UFC.com following her UFC on ESPN 11 victory.
“I wasn’t able to be as busy as I wanted to the last two years. So I just want to fight, whether it be title or no title. I’m not going to sit around and wait for the perfect fight. I’m not going to sit around and wait for what’s going to happen in that title fight with (Shevchenko vs. Joanne Calderwood). I just want to keep it going and keep fighting. No matter what, I know that as long as I fight and gain experience I’m going to get better. So I just want to fight. If it’s going to be title or no title I don’t care. I’m here in my new division, my new home, and I just want to fight everybody,” Calvillo said.
Topics:
Cynthia Calvillo Kenny Florian UFC Valentina Shevchenko