“Every Tattoo Tells My Story” Valentina Shevchenko Reveals the Meaning Behind Her Ink
Valentina Shevchenko doesn’t just fight for titles – he collects stories, and she wears them all over her body. The UFC’s “Bullet” is as famous for her precision in the octagon as she is for the ink that marks her journey, each tattoo a loaded symbol rather than a random splash.
The Tattoos of Valentina Shevchenko
In an interview with Helen Yee, Valentina Shevchenko explained:
“My coach gave me the nickname ‘Bullet’—it’s about speed and power, both in shooting and fighting. All my tattoos have meaning—championships, meaningful fights, places I’ve lived. They’re not just pictures; they represent my journey.”
Valentina Shevchenko’s most talked-about tattoo is the Hanuman Sak Yant, a sacred Thai design inked on her body the traditional way – by a Buddhist monk with a steel rod, not a tattoo gun. This isn’t just for show. In Muay Thai and Southeast Asian warrior culture, the Hanuman Sak Yant is believed to grant strength, courage, protection from harm, and fearlessness in battle.
The ritual is serious business: after the tattoo is applied, it’s blessed by a monk, and the wearer is expected to follow a code of conduct rooted in Buddhist principles, no killing, no stealing, no lying, no intoxication, and no sexual misconduct. Break the rules, and the tattoo’s protection is said to vanish. For a fighter who’s made a career out of discipline, the symbolism fits like a glove.
But that’s not the only story she tells in ink. On her right side, Valentina Shevchenko sports a Glock 19 tattoo, a nod to her love of shooting and her belief that a gun, like an MMA fighter, is universal and adaptable. “It’s very easy to carry. It can survive in different conditions… that’s why I have a tattoo of a Glock 19. It is universal, just like an MMA fighter,” she’s explained.
There’s also the snow leopard tattoo, which she’s linked to her Muay Thai roots, a nod to resilience and adaptability in harsh conditions.
If her tattoos are a map, her UFC career is the legend. Shevchenko has fought at the sport’s highest level for over two decades, recently defending her flyweight title for the tenth time at UFC 315 in Montreal, outlasting Manon Fiorot in a razor-close decision. She reclaimed the belt from Alexa Grasso in September 2024, making her the first two-time champion in the division’s history and the oldest woman ever to win a UFC title fight at 36 years and six months.
Her record? Twenty-five wins, four losses, and a draw – her only UFC defeats coming at the hands of Amanda Nunes and Alexa Grasso. She’s held the flyweight title for more than 1,500 days across two reigns, defended it against the best in the world, and hasn’t missed a title fight in nine straight years, an active record that even the likes of Jon Jones and Max Holloway can’t match.
