Valentina Shevchenko, Manon Fiorot get into war of words over booking flyweight title fight

UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and top-ranked contender Manon Fiorot are total professionals in the cage, but things got a little chippy between them on social media.

It’s been two months since Shevchenko reclaimed her title with a lopsided win over Alexa Grasso at UFC 306 to settle a trilogy of fights between them and Fiorot is anxious to get her own shot at the belt lined up. Fiorot is expected to face Shevchenko next after she dispatched Erin Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas in consecutive fights while improving her UFC record to 7-0 overall.

“Valentina Shevchenko, stop making people wait!” Fiorot said on Twitter. “Let’s do it soon enough so I can send you to retirement and move on.”

It didn’t take long for Shevchenko to see the comment and fire back at the French flyweight.

“You lose, you retire. Deal?” Shevchenko wrote in response. “Ill-mannered first grader.”

The war of words continued with Fiorot sort of accepting those terms, but she seemed more interested in actually getting a date and location for the fight against Shevchenko scheduled.

“Deal,” Fiorot said. “I’ll take you seriously when you’ve signed the contract. Damn teacher’s pet.”

Considering some of the volatile trash talk that often erupts between fighters, “ill-mannered first grader” and “damn teacher’s pet” is down right civil. Still, it’s clear Fiorot is doing everything possible to get Shevchenko’s attention as she attempts to secure her shot at UFC gold for the first time in her career.

There’s no word if the UFC has actually attempted to book this fight just yet or if Fiorot is looking to get the ball rolling in that department so she can start making plans for early 2025.

As of now, based on her Instagram account, Shevchenko is still very much enjoying her vacation after reclaiming the flyweight title in September so it’s tough to tell when that fight might get scheduled.