ABU DHABI – Valentina Shevchenko was impressed by Weili Zhang’s historic title victory at UFC on ESPN+ 15. But not so much that she wants to move mountains for a champion vs. champion fight.

In the aftermath of Zhang’s (20-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) 42-second TKO of Jessica Andrade to claim the strawweight belt and become the first Chinese champion in UFC history, she was asked about the possibility of moving up to women’s flyweight to challenge Shevchenko (19-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC).

Zhang was receptive to the idea, but Shevchenko was dismissive. “The Bullet” feels Zhang got a quick path to the belt once already, and she won’t allow it to happen again in her division.

“I think to get this right, she has to prove (herself),” Shevchenko told MMA Junkie. “You have to fight with the best ones. Like Joanna (Jedrzejczyk), Rose (Namajunas), Tatiana (Suarez). She has to prove that she belongs here. She can’t just jump over. She jumped once to face Jessica Andrade, but it was once. Now she has time to really show her skills.”

If Zhang establishes herself as a dominant champion, then perhaps a leap in weight class could prove more realistic. Her UFC title reign is less than a week old, though, and there are legitimate contenders who exist at 115 pounds.

Shevchenko praised Zhang for her stunning performance against Andrade and the historic undertone that came along with it. Before she entertains fighting Zhang, though, Shevchenko wants to see more than one title-fight win.

“I think she’s a good fighter, but she still didn’t fight with the best ones in her weight class,” Shevchenko said. “There is more work to happen. There are more fighters to face to prove that you deserve it, that you deserve to be in this spot. I think a lot of stories will come in the strawweight division, so there is a lot of fighters to face her. But we have one new Chinese champion, and I think it’s great for that region. I think she’s a very huge star in her country, and it’s history.”