LAS VEGAS – Valentina Shevchenko is “new” again.

For the first time in over a year and a half, Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC) holds the title gold – a feeling that was familiar to her in the years leading up to her loss at UFC 285 to Alexa Grasso in March 2023.

“It was my third fight with Alexa and I don’t know, I just feel so different, so powerful, so strong — even better than I did a couple of years ago,” Shevchenko told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight press conference. “That power, I just felt it through my veins, through everything. I think that’s a good thing for a fighter. If you’re not evolving, it’s like, ‘OK, it’s time to retire.’ But if you feel strong and powerful and you keep doing these hard things that you do but love it, that’s kind of what’s important. Rest — that doesn’t matter.”

As she sat at the press conference table, Shevchenko maintained her usual professional posture and demeanor – but with a more relaxed, radiant aura than usual. She exuded a sense of security, knowing that the universe was aligning as she wanted it to.

“I’m so happy about everything – definitely,” Shevchenko said. “I’m so happy to give back what’s mine. I was without the belt for a year. It was such a strange feeling. Right now it’s really difficult to express all the emotions that are going through me, because of all the adrenaline and what happened after the fight. I think by tomorrow I’ll be able to answer the question exactly. But right now, in two words, I’m just happy that everything is good.”

Shevchenko went into the match 0-1-1 against Grasso (16-4-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC), the defending women’s flyweight champion of the federation, but won by unanimous decision. All good things come in threes.

“What this belt means to me is the story of how I lost it because of my own mistakes in the first fight,” Shevchenko said. “Then I fought the second fight, won and drew. Then that third fight, those five months of training camp, that was so intense for me, not only physically but mentally. I was thinking every time about how I can get better. … That particular fight, I felt so much energy inside me, monster energy, and I just unleashed it and put everything into that fight.”

Now that she’s back on the flyweight throne, Shevchenko wouldn’t name who she wants to fight next. She said she’ll let the UFC decide who drafts her. She just plans to knock them down.

“To be the best, you have to win (against) the best,” Shevchenko said. “That’s always my mindset. That defines who I am. That’s why I never choose my opponent and say, ‘Oh, this one. I’m not taking this one, I’ll probably take another one.’ No, that’s not me. It’s very hard for me to say right now. … It was a super-intense preparation for this fight, not only physically or through training or anything, but mentally the part was super tough. Every time you go to bed, you think about what you need to do differently in training, what technique you need to use to improve your game. Now, finally, the first night after five or six months, I can sleep and enjoy my sleep.”

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.