Valentina Shevchenko did not take Sean Strickland’s comments lightly.
Shevchenko on Friday fired off a rare shot on social media after the UFC middleweight champion insulted Paige VanZant and called women’s MMA “lame.” Strickland’s remarks came after VanZant recently told the Only Stans podcast that she earned more money in just 24 hours on her Only Fans platform than through all of her fight purses combined.
Strickland’s comments can be seen below.
Paige Vanzant said she made more on only fans in 24 hours than she did in the UFC. Let’s unpack..
1. You were signed because you’re hot.
2. Women’s mma is lame.
3. Men will pay more to see you naked than to watch you fight.Stay in school kids, fighting sucks lol
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) November 9, 2023
A former flyweight champion, Shevchenko is generally hailed as one of the greatest mixed martial artists in UFC history, regardless of gender. The 35-year-old racked up seven consecutive title defenses after capturing the UFC flyweight title with a victory over Joanna Jędrzejczyk in 2018. Her run of dominance included victories over Liz Carmouche, Jessica Andrade, Taila Santos, and Lauren Murphy prior to her stunning loss at Alexa Grasso.
Shevchenko, who started her professional MMA career all the way back in 2003, returned fire at Strickland on social media on Friday, telling the UFC middleweight champ that he looked “more like an offended kid” in his divisive comments about VanZant.
Her response can be seen below.
Interesting unpack here
That looks more like an offended kid, who got less money in his entire fighter career than female fighters do!
Good try, maybe UFC will see that and add some cash to your purse next time.
But for now naked is you are https://t.co/17IfqFmS06— Valentina Shevchenko (@BulletValentina) November 11, 2023
Strickland is currently scheduled to make the first defense of his title against Dricus du Plessis on January 20 at UFC 297. Shevchenko is currently unbooked following her two-fight championship series with Grasso, the most recent of which ended in a split draw.
