JRE MMA Show #115 with Valentina Schevchenko

Shevchenko’s coach always pushed her into many rule sets (Taekwondo, Muay Thai, MMA, Sanda, etc.), so she never feels out of place standing, clinching, or grappling. That breadth now lets her win fights in any area, surprising opponents who expect her to be only a striker.

Valentina follows Pavel wherever he goes because he’s been with her since age five and tailors technique to each athlete’s body and style instead of forcing one rigid system on everyone; she sees this as the main reason talent either flourishes or gets wasted.

Living in Russia, Peru, and Thailand, speaking four languages, and deeply engaging with local cultures have expanded her perspective and resilience; she believes non‑fight experiences cross‑pollinate skills, sharpen self‑knowledge, and ultimately improve her fighting.

She largely avoids weights, machines, running, and heart‑rate gadgets, instead doing one long, intense, skill‑heavy session a day with live partners and full‑power sparring (with protection). For her, wrestling, pads, and sparring build both conditioning and fight‑specific readiness.

She criticizes hard, bare‑bones sparring without gear, noting that repeated damage in camp leaves fighters ‘like a balloon’ on fight night; her solution is full‑power but highly protected sparring (big gloves, headgear, pads) and careful energy management.