One of the top women’s fighters in the world will be back in the cage before summer.
A women’s flyweight title bout between champion Valentina Shevchenko and Taila Santos is being targeted for UFC 275 on June 11, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. MMA Fighting was the first to report the news. UFC 275 does not yet have an official location.
Shevchenko is ESPN’s top pound-for-pound female fighter. At flyweight, ESPN has Shevchenko ranked No. 1 and Santos at No. 5.
Shevchenko (22-3) has won eight straight fights, including two of the past three via TKO. The Kyrgyzstan native, who trains in Las Vegas, has six straight UFC flyweight title defenses, which is tied with Ronda Rousey for the most in one division among women in UFC history. Shevchenko, 33, has lost to just one woman since 2010: UFC women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes.
Santos (19-1) has won four straight, most recently a first-round submission win over Joanne Wood in November. The Brazil native has just one career loss, her UFC debut against Mara Romero Borella in 2019. Santos, 28, is a Muay Thai striking specialist, like Shevchenko.
UFC 275 will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Glover Teixeira and challenger Jiri Prochazka.