Photo | Antonina Shevchenko releases statement following “tough” loss to Katlyn Chookagian

UFC women’s flyweight Antonina Shevchenko has released a statement following a “tough” loss to Katlyn Chookagian at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Burns.

Despite entering the fight as the betting favorite, Shevchenko was dominated by Chookagian for 15 minutes, getting taken down at will and beat up on the ground. It was the best performance of Chookagian’s UFC career to date, and she needed it after losing in devastating fashion to UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in his last fight, Antonina’s sister.

For Antonina Shevchenko, it was her second loss in the UFC and evened her record in the Octagon at 2-2. Following the defeat, Shevchenko took to Instagram to post a photo of her face, which bears the brunt of the damage she took from Chookagian.

MMA is a tough sport, but it’s my destiny and I will come back stronger.

Shevchenko came to the UFC with high hopes considering her famous sister and her muay Thai striking background. After winning her fight on Dana White’s Contender Series in impressive fashion, the UFC inked the older Shevchenko sister to a deal. However, she has failed to live up to those expectations so far inside the Octagon.

In Shevchenko’s UFC debut, she defeated Ji Yeon Kim via decision, but she followed that up with a split decision loss to Roxanne Modafferi. After submitting Lucie Pudilova it looked like Shevchenko may have corrected the holes in her ground game, but the loss to Chookagian shows that’s still a major flaw in her game.

While Shevchenko remains a top-15 ranked flyweight in a shallow division, the loss to Chookagian showed that she still has plenty of work to do with her overall mixed martial arts game if she ever wants to achieve the heights her sister has.

What do you think is next for Antonina Shevchenko?