The end of 2018 was a prosperous time for the Shevchenko sisters. On Nov. 30, Antonina won her UFC debut and improved to 7-0 when she beat Ji Yeon Kim. Just one week later, on Dec. 8, Valentina defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 to become the UFC’s women’s flyweight champion.
A lifetime of work led to those victories, hours and hours of time spent sparring with each other. So what was different last November? The proximity of the scheduled bouts allowed the Shevchenkos to benefit from one another’s amped up training sessions.
It’s a benefit that each could profit from again; first, this week at UFC Newark, where Antonina takes on Lucie Pudilova, and then next week when Valentina defends her belt against Liz Carmouche in Uruguay.