Antonina Shevchenko promised to be in excellent shape as she goes up against Ariane Lipski at UFC 255
UFC Flyweight star Antonina Shevchenko takes on Ariane Lipski in her next bout at UFC 255.
Antonina is the older sister of UFC Flyweight Champion Valentina, and the pair were speaking to the Schmo.
While Antonina is the older sister, she only has three UFC fights to her name. The 35-year-old has a kickboxing record of 39 wins and one loss, and is keen to pick up more wins in the Octagon.
However, things didn’t go her way in her last fight. The older Shevchenko lost to Katlyn Chookagian and was asked how she would deal with the hungry Lipski.
Lipski is on a two-fight win streak and was impressive as she got Luana Carolina to submit in her previous outing.
However, Antonina sounded a warning to Lipski and claimed she was hungry for success too:
“She may be younger but it doesn’t mean she is hungrier. I am still hungry, I had lost in my last fight, that has made me even more hungry. It doesn’t mean anything, I am still hungry and I am just looking forward to this fight and recover from the loss I had.
“I will be preparing and be in my best shape.”
While Antonina is ranked 13th in the division, this would only be her 11th MMA fight. She has a record of eight wins and two losses and both her defeats have come in the UFC.
Experience is key in MMA
UFC 255 would be the first time both the Shevchenko sisters would be on the same UFC card. The pair spoke about how syncing their training regimes is great for once, and they were looking forward to performing on 21 November.
Valentina is considered as one of the greatest MMA stars too and she takes on Jennifer Maia. This is for the Flyweight title, and the champion also chimed in about motivation and experience being keys in the Octagon:
“I would say in MMA, it doesn’t depend on who is hungrier. The most important thing is experience.
“I have been in martial arts 27 years doing this job, fighting everyday and experience what is important.
“Doesn’t matter how hungry my opponent will be because I have my power.”
It will be interesting to see how the two sisters do on 21 November. Valentina has to be the favourite to retain her title and dominate as she has done for several years.
However, all eyes will also be on Antonina to see how she does against a rising star in Lipski.
This was an exclusive interview from The Schmozone Podcast. For more exclusive interviews and content please follow the link.
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