Shevchenko undertakes her second defense of the women's 125lb title she won last year in the UFC's maiden trip to Montevideo on Saturday - a fight which comes as doubly bountiful for the Kyrgyzstani–Peruvian fighter. 

'Bullet' has been defeated by just two women in her professional career: one of whom is reigning bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes, currently thought of as the best female fighter in history, and who has defeated Shevchenko twice.  

The other? A doctor stoppage loss to her opponent this weekend, Liz Carmouche, almost nine years ago in what was her first MMA bout in four years after beginning her career with a 7-0 record.

Since that defeat, Shevchenko has won 10 of 12 in her career (with just those two razor-thin decision losses to Nunes as the only black marks), including high-profile wins against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Holly Holm and most recently, Jessica Eye. 

Primarily a counter-fighter, Shevchenko uses outstanding kickboxing techniques to maintain fights at a distance of her own choosing. This can force opponents prone to frustration to try their hand at seizing initiative and coming forward, only to be met be the type of laser-sighted striking which garnered her a 57-2 kickboxing record. 

Her grappling is not to be ignored, either, as her record actually lists more submissions (7) than knockouts (5). 

Perhaps most importantly, though, the natural disadvantages she had in the bantamweight division have largely been neutered by her decision to drop down to the 125lb division - a much more suitable weight class for her frame - leaving her opponents unable to rely on size alone to gain a competitive advantage.

So dominant has Shevchenko been at flyweight thus far that it has left the UFC in a position to scramble to find contenders who can be considered legitimate threats. This is where Carmouche comes in.

The American does hold that win against Shevchenko from nearly a decade ago but is just 5-4 in her last nine fights in the UFC since suffering defeat to Ronda Rousey in 2013.

Her two most recent appearances, decision wins against Lucie Pudilova and Jennifer Maia, were notable victories but Carmouche has struggled consistently when thrust into the limelight, losing high profile bouts in the past to Miesha Tate, Alexis Davis (x2) and Rousey. 

Carmouche does have the grappling chops to stifle Shevchenko up close and is arguably the strongest fighter that 'Bullet' will have faced in some time, but to stand a chance of winning she will have to at least be Shevchenko's equal on the feet, something far easier said than done. 

That, added to the fact that Shevchenko has improved immeasurably as a fighter since their first meeting, should lead to this being somewhat of a straightforward title defense - so long as the doctors don't get involved like they did nine years ago.