When Conor McGregor claimed Valentina Shevchenko could dominantly beat former male UFC champion in an intergender fight 

Valentina Shevchenko, the former UFC women's flyweight champion and is currently scheduled to face Alexa Grasso in a title rematch this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 227. Shevchenko's loss to Grasso ranks among the greatest upsets in WMMA history, and there are plenty of reasons for this.

The key reasons among these was Shevchenko's dominance inside the octagon. She currently holds the record for the most consecutive title defenses across all UFC women's divisions. Additionally, at the height of her career, she was believed by Conor McGregor to be capable of beating Henry Cejudo.

Cejudo is a former flyweight champion in the men's division, as well as a former bantamweight titleholder. Yet, despite his accolades, McGregor, according to BJPenn.com, once stated in an interview with LowKickMMA that she would prove too much for the Olympic gold medalist.

"One of the greatest female fighters there ever was," said McGregor. "So I would say Valentina, with the length and the range and the dangerous strikes would probably spark Henry."

Despite the Irishman's praise, only one of the Shevchenko sisters achieved notable success in MMA. Valentina Shevchenko is a former UFC women's bantamweight title challenger, former 125-pound champion with a 23-4 record, and a litany of historic milestones, like the most UFC women's title defenses.

Meanwhile, her older sister Antonina Shevchenko is a far less accomplished mixed martial artist. Despite her various Muay Thai and Taekwondo championships, she has no achievements in MMA, having never won a professional title in any promotion, while having a poor record of 10 wins and four losses.

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Has Valentina Shevchenko ever beaten other UFC champions?

While she never actually dethroned anyone to capture the UFC women's flyweight championship, as the title was vacant at the time, Valentina Shevchenko has beaten several UFC champions during her tenure with the promotion. She first defeated former women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm at UFC on Fox 20.

She followed up that win, a unanimous decision in her favor, by submitting future women's bantamweight queen Julianna Peña with a second-round armbar. Nearly two years later, she defeated former strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk, who she thrice beat during their Muay Thai days.

Nearly three years later, she finished former strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade via second-round TKO. While she failed to beat Alexa Grasso, she hopes to rectify that failure this Saturday in the pair's rematch.