Montreal — Ahead of this Saturday’s UFC 315 in Montreal, where she will challenge for flyweight gold, Manon Fiorot was saying all the right things.
“I’m in the perfect shape,” she said during Wednesday’s media day, adding that “I did the best training camp I’ve done in my whole life.”
This is normal fighter talk. Great camp, great training partners, gave 110%. It’s the MMA equivalent of a hockey interview. Yet when it comes to Fiorot, it’s hard to doubt her. She’s yet to taste defeat in the UFC, and hasn’t lost a fight since her pro debut (that came against Leah McCourt, who competes as a featherweight).
It’s actually a shock that Fiorot’s first title bid in the UFC didn’t come sooner, though she appears to be at peace with that.
“I know I deserve this fight, from the Kaitlyn Chookagian fight [in 2022] I’m the number one contender,” Fiorot (12-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press on Wednesday. “But it is what it is, I had an injury, it stopped me in place. I think it’s a good thing, the two more fights I did, against Rose Namajunas in Paris and Erin Blanchfield in Atlantic City, was good for me and my experience. I did five rounds. So it is what it is, but I’m happy to follow this process.”
France’s Fiorot is actually the favorite over champ Valentina Shevchenko ahead of UFC 315, and she believes that’s for good reason. “I don’t really pay attention about that, but I know it’s normal. If you pay attention to the last three fights, I’m more dominant than her,” stated Fiorot. “So I think it’s normal.”
Between the time Fiorot hit the UFC scene and her title shot this Saturday, Shevchenko lost, then regained the UFC women’s flyweight championship across a trio of fights with Alexa Grasso. That’s fortuitous for Fiorot, who would rather face the future Hall of Famer for gold.
“I really want Valentina because when I arrived in the UFC, she was the champion. So it’s important. She’s a legend, and I really want to beat her to take that belt.”
Ahead of Shevchenko vs. Fiorot, there’s been plenty of talk about strawweight champ Weili Zhang. Dana White has suggested he’s open to booking a champ versus champ fight between Zhang and Shevchenko, two of the promotion’s biggest stars. Yet should Manon Fiorot come away with gold in Montreal this Saturday, she would also like a fight with China’s Zhang.
“Absolutely, I want her,” she told Cageside Press.
Watch the full UFC 315 media day appearance by Manon Fiorot above.
