Valentina “The Bullet” Shevchenko took a fight with former Strikeforce bantamweight champion Sarak Kaufman on eight days notice, and won a split decision victory Saturday night at UFC on FOX 17. The native of Kyrgystan holds multiple world titles in Muay Thai in the mold of UFC featherweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

However, Shevchenko holds a 60-2 record in kickboxing, and has wins over Jedrzejczyk (see highlights below). She is 13-1 in MMA, with her sole loss to Liz Carmouche in 2010. Shevchenko is now newcomer to MMA, having competed in the sport since 2003.

I took the fight on short notice, so we started my preparation and training really hard, she said. With this short of time, I didn’t get to show everything I wanted or that I was a 17-time world champion.

I like to fight Muay Thai, and I like to mix different techniques into my training – it all depends on my opponent. Sarah has very good, strong hands and technique. I knew it wasn’t going to be won just by striking, so I had to figure out something clever in the fight. My coach put in my mind: if I can win the stand up game, that was good, but to win at grappling would be better.

I’ve been doing martial arts since I was five years old, and 22 years of my sporting career are in martial arts. This isn’t just my job, this is my life and this is what I love to do. I knew UFC was a big organization, and there was pressure going into this. But, a fight is a fight and inside the cage, we are all the same. I tried to do the best I can. This fight was good experience for me.

In February, Shevchenko fought for Legacy FC for the first time, earning a decision over Jan Finney. Her only loss was to former UFC No. 1 contender Liz Carmouche, which she has scored five straight since.