Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

UFC legend urges Fighter of the Year contender to push against the one thing that’s holding them back

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Kyle Dimond | Last updated Dec 30, 2025 9:05 PM ET

One fighter may have gone under the radar despite having an incredibly successful 2025.

Tom Aspinall may have named Ilia Topuria as his UFC Fighter of the Year, but the lightweight champion wasn’t the consensus pick among fans.

There weren’t too many obvious contenders for the award due to a total of 11 UFC belts changing hands in 2025.

Merab Dvalishvili’s loss to Petr Yan in the final fight of the year opened up a debate about who should receive this honor after he appeared to have it on lock.

One fighter who has to be in the conversation is being negatively impacted by one aspect of their career in the opinion of a legend of the Octagon.

Chael Sonnen believes that Valentina Shevchenko needs to force her way out of the co-main event spot

At 37 years old, Valentina Shevchenko showed no signs of slowing down this year, having picked up two dominant victories over top opposition.

If there’s anyone who is known for being critical of Shevchenko, it’s Chael Sonnen, who received a response from ‘Bullet’ earlier this year.

Sonnen said in a recent video on his YouTube channel that he’s incredibly happy to see the UFC flyweight champion be the female Fighter of the Year in 2025, though she should be in the debate regardless of gender.

However, the former three-time UFC title challenger also admitted that he struggles to remember exactly what Shevchenko accomplished this year.

His main reason for this, which he believes holds back how great the champion truly is, is because she has been the co-main event for the majority of her title fights, which he wants to see her take a stand against.

“If I were her, I would sit my management team down, I would let them know it’s main event or else,” Sonnen suggested. “I would not listen to their 20 excuses as to why they can’t get any further. We’d have a hard talk but it’s going to be main event or one of you isn’t going to be here.

“There is no excuse to have as many world title fights, there is no excuse for Fighter of the Year, there is no excuse for the greatest female in history to be anything less than a main event.”

Valentina Shevchenko doesn’t get the praise she deserves and it’s not because she’s in the co-main event

Chael Sonnen did point out that Valentina Shevchenko has main evented a UFC PPV in the past, when she challenged Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title in a rematch at UFC 215.

The thing that holds her back in awards like this, and in legacy conversations going forward, isn’t necessarily that she isn’t the main event.

Her two fights this year are perfect examples of her putting on remarkable performances in fights that were somewhat forgettable.

That being said, that’s largely because of how dominant and routine-like she was on those nights, which considering the opposition she fought, shouldn’t be downplayed.

Shevchenko beat the top contender in her division and the champion from the weight class below in 2025 and while neither fight had fans out of their seats, she has undoubtedly had one of the best years of any UFC fighter.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: