UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko addressed the persistent dismissive attitude some fans have toward women’s MMA, particularly the notion that female matches serve merely as intermissions during events.
During an extensive interview on the Russian podcast Ushatayka, Shevchenko was asked directly about a popular joke in Russian-speaking MMA circles that women’s matches are the perfect time to “make tea” during a tournament broadcast.
Rather than responding with anger, the champion offered a thoughtful analysis of why such attitudes persist and how they can be changed.
“I think that this particular opinion needs to be popularized more, because the majority of people, many of them, do not ask themselves the question of what, how, and why. They just repeat what they were told,” Shevchenko explained.
She emphasized that media and journalists have platforms from which they broadcast opinions, and many people simply absorb and repeat these views without critical thought. “If more people promote the truth, the truth as it is, I think that little by little this opinion will begin to change.”
Shevchenko pointed out an interesting phenomenon: many people who make such comments don’t actually believe them. When pressed individually, they often admit to holding different views. “Many, when, for example, a person said such a phrase, and you ask him: ‘Do you really think so?’ Even in our example, you don’t think so, you think completely differently, but still, we said this phrase, right?”
The champion made a compelling case for why women’s matches deserve appreciation as legitimate martial arts displays. “Why is it interesting to watch women’s MMA fights? Because, firstly, it’s a very beautiful shape that highlights athleticism and a beautiful figure. This is a confrontation, when a girl shows not only physical strength, but also grace at the same time, when she knows how to control her body, when she does various complex techniques.”
She highlighted the technical aspects that make women’s MMA compelling: “The beauty, the extent to which she can control these strikes, those same highly technical spinning kicks, it’s so beautiful. This is very beautiful. That’s why many, many people support it, and they like women’s martial arts, because it’s about beauty.”
Shevchenko offered insight into why some fans become particularly vocal in dismissing women’s fights. She connected it directly to betting culture and financial losses.
“MMA is primarily about betting, right? And as you rightly said at the beginning, there was a lot of propaganda, and people who don’t understand much about martial arts and, well, they lack analytical thinking,” she said. “When disappointment sets in, when all these people have lost a large amount of money…it’s not even a question of what they said, they just said it, because there is such anger raging inside, because the person lost, he needs to justify himself somehow.”
The champion’s most pointed observation was that these dismissive phrases persist largely because people repeat them mindlessly. “These are just words that they don’t even think about,” she said.
Shevchenko’s remarks come amid recurring controversy surrounding dismissive comments from male competitors toward women’s MMA. Most recently, UFC lightweight Loik Radzhabov drew backlash after admitting in an interview with Red Corner MMA that he uses women’s fights as a break. “Actually, when women fight, I take a break to get some snacks or go to the restroom,” Radzhabov said.
His comments echoed earlier statements from former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who once suggested women should be “fighters at home” and questioned the role of ring girls in the UFC. These remarks have often been linked to deeply ingrained cultural norms, where traditional gender roles remain influential.
For Shevchenko, the solution lies in continued excellence inside the octagon and offering education outside of it.
