Valentina Shevchenko Says Halle Berry Could Compete In The UFC
Flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko has claimed Oscar winning actress Halle Berry has the skills to fight and compete in the UFC.
One month on from dominating and stopping top 125lb contender Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 247, the champion is back on set working on her first ever movie.
The Ukrainian fighter will make her acting debut in the upcoming film Bruised which will also be a directorial debut for long-time actress Berry.
In the movie Berry plays a retired MMA fighter looking to compete again, whilst trying to reunite with her young son. Shevchenko who plays her eventual opponent has also been taken on as the Hollywood stars personal trainer during filming. According to one of the pound-for-pounds best fighters on the planet, Berry could hang in the UFC if she wanted to.
“We trained four hours a day with Halle, training non-stop.” Shevchenko told Sports Illustrated. “She did everything amazing. For this movie she started training MMA – Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu – she started everything, two or three years ago. And she’s now in such a great shape, that I can say she can be very competitive for girls in UFC as well. I don’t know if she will want to be a fighter, but she has the skills and level..and you will see it when the movie is released.”
The flyweight queen also spoke about her upcoming title defence against popular Scottish fighter Joanne Calderwood which will take place at UFC 251, in Perth, Australia on June 6/7, she said.
“I’m very happy that it’s happening in Australia,” says Shevchenko. “We’ve been in Australia last year, for one month, visiting different cities…and Perth became one of my favorites. Joanne (Calderwood) is a strong fighter and a well-rounded MMA fighter.”
Who would you like to see Halle Berry matched up with in the UFC?
