Kay Hansen is certain that dominating UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko can be defeated. Shevchenko’s iron-fisted reign dates back to 2018, when she defeated strawweight great Joanna Jedrzejczyk to claim the division’s vacant throne. In the time since, the 33-year-old Kyrgyzstani star (22-3) has thwarted six would-be usurpers – all with relative ease. Shevchenko’s dominance has given her an air of invincibility, but the 22-year-old prospect Hansen (7-4) isn’t buying into that mystique. “She’s one of the most technical fighters in the division, or you could say in women’s MMA in general, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have flaws,” Hansen told the Post this week. “People go into a fight with her already defeated.” “We’re kind of at that point with Valentina where everyone’s like, ‘they’re just throwing another girl in there with her’,” the American added. “She’s definitely beatable. You need the right skill set, but you also need the right mindset. Trying to have both of those is the key to beating Valentina.” Unlike many other fighters, Hansen is not big on studying tape. She prefers to focus on her own game rather than dissecting those of her rivals. But she is also a fan of the sport, and believes she has spotted a few vulnerabilities when she has tuned in for Shevchenko’s previous fights. But do not expect her to reveal those vulnerabilities before she gets the opportunity to fight the champ. “I do my best to notice things when I watch everyone, whether I have the opportunity to fight them or not,” she said. “I’m a fight fan. I love the sport. I love picking things apart, so of course I notice things [about Shevchenko]. I’m not going to elaborate, but I do notice things. “Her execution is great, but everyone’s beatable.” The UFC flyweight division is loaded with high-level talent – Hansen and Shevchenko included. It will also soon be the home of former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, who announced her intention to drop down a division earlier this week. UFC: Tate drops to flyweight to fight Murphy, targets Valentina Hansen isn’t sure how Tate will look in the new weight class, but suspects most questions will be answered in the former’s champ’s flyweight debut. “I don’t know her personally, so I can’t say 135 [pounds] is better [for her] or 125 is better,” she said of Tate’s migration to flyweight. “We’re just gonna have to wait and see. “If the cut is good, I think she’ll have a lot of success in the division, just being primarily a grappler and coming down from 135.” Hansen, whose athletic career began with softball, credits former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey for her move into MMA. However, she watched several of Tate’s fights as she was getting into the sport. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kay Hansen (@kayhansenmma) She isn’t sure if she’ll ever meet the former bantamweight champion in the Octagon, but finds it validating to even share a division with her. “I’m definitely one of the Rousey revolution girls,” Hansen said. “I started training when I was 16. I remember the fight that got me into it was Rousey versus Bethe Correia. Now I’m fighting in the same organisation. “[Tate is] higher up in the organisation than I am, but we are fighting in the same organisation at the same level, so to think I’m potentially a few fights away from possibly fighting her, it’s just cool. It shows my hard work.” Hansen hopes her hard work will bare fruit when she returns to the Octagon opposite debuting Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius (6-1) at UFC 270 this Saturday. UFC 270: Gane ‘best technical heavyweight in history’, White says The fight will be the American’s first in well over a year after she took a hiatus to address some personal issues. It will also be her first UFC fight in a full arena, as her first two bouts with the promotion occurred inside the Apex facility in Las Vegas without a crowd. The fact that UFC 270 will emanate from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, just a stone’s throw from her hometown of Fullerton, is the icing on the cake. “It’s going to be insane,” she said of her imminent comeback on home turf. “I was supposed to fight [at UFC Vegas 46] last weekend, but I had the fight moved. I might have got myself in trouble for doing that, but it’s for sure going to be worth it. Every athlete dreams of being able to fight for the UFC in front of their home crowd. “It’s going to be a surreal moment. I’m going to be my best to take it all in, but it’s hard to.”