After a fantastic performance at the weekend, Valentina Shevchenko will be the next woman to challenge Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

Shevchenko defeated the current No. 2 in the division Julianna Pena via submission in the second round of their main event bout when she locked on a slick arm bar having been taken down by the Venezuelan earlier in the round.

The win now sets up both a title fight and a rematch for the Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian and she will now get the chance of the ultimate revenge over the women who is currently the only person to defeat her under the UFC banner.

Following her fight on Saturday, Nunes was brought into the Octagon for a showdown with Shevchenko and the two met face-to-face again for the time first time since Nunes’ win at UFC 196. Fans online remarked about the size difference between the two fighters with the champion seemingly towering over Shevchenko looking the much bigger fighter.

Speaking about the face-to-face on SiriusXM yesterday, Shevchenko said she was not worried by the size difference and said that she had her own advantages not needing to cut weight for her fights at 135lbs.

“She’s bigger and I know she cuts a lot of weight,” Shevchenko said. “Me, I don’t cut anything for 135—right now I’m actually 135. There will be a difference in our weight, but at the same time when I’m training and doing all this hard work I’m feeling strong.

“I don’t need to think about cutting weight or eating too much or having to sweat a lot. I don’t have to think about all this stuff and I’m able to focus just 100% on my preparation and my training. I feel very healthy for the fight and of course, every time I have to adjust based on the length of their arms, legs or feet, but every time I fight bigger girls and taller girls so I will do everything right.”

After the fight, the new No.1 contender performed a short dance routine to celebrate her victory. This was the first time Shevchenko had performed it inside the Octagon, but she revealed it was actually an old tradition for her back in her Muay Thai fight days.

“The name is the Lyazginka dance, it’s a dance from south Russia,” Shevchenko said. “This dance is a dance [I performed] before all of my Muay Thai fights. I used to music as I walked out for each of my [Muay Thai] fights and this was the dance that I did. For me, this was like my tradition. I’d walk in and dance to it.

“It’s a very traditional dance and it was used back in all the countries before the [formation] of the Soviet Union. It’s a very popular dance and you’d see it at every party, every disco and everyone knows this dance and they love it.”