Exclusive: UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko looks back at record number of title fight wins

Valentina Shevchenko (25-4-1) won her tenth title fight when she defeated Manon Fiorot (12-2) at UFC 315 and successfully defended her women's flyweight title. 

In doing so, she joined a very tight circle of UFC champions who have double-digit title fight victories, comprised of Amanda Nunes and Anderson Silva (11), Demetrious Johnson (12), Georges St-Pierre (13) and Jon Jones (16).

It's a milestone that wasn't on Shevchenko's mind until it happened. 

"I never even considered that before the media brought it up before the fight," Shevchenko told DAZN News . "I feel like, definitely, before the fight, they started to come up with numbers and all these crazy things.

"But you just don't want to think about it, because the most important thing for you is to focus on your fight, and everything that gets into your head is distracting."

Shevchenko explained that there's lot of time to reflect on the numbers after the fight is over.

"But now, after the fight, definitely, you can think about it - you can reflect on it," she said. "But at the same time, if you're going to think too much about it, it’s going to get into you too deep.

At the age of 37, the undisputed UFC flyweight champion revealed some of the secrets behind her longevity. 

"To be successful and to keep your champion’s journey, you have to focus more on your inner spirit - on your training, proper recovery, proper lifestyle - because it's very important," she said. "Me, being in martial arts for more than 30 years, actively competing all this time, it means a lot, because you cannot have an extended fighter's life without a very good balance between training, rest, recovery, proper nutrition, and everything.

"To keep your body and mind young, you really have to work on it. That’s why I take everything very seriously - not just to get something, but to do everything possible to keep doing what I love the most and compete as long as I can."

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