On Saturday, September 16, the UFC Fight Night tournament will take place in the United States, where the main event of the night will feature a women’s flyweight title fight between belt holder Alexa Grasso and former champion Valentina Shevchenko .
The girls will meet for the second time in the octagon. On March 4, 2023, Grasso managed to deliver one of the loudest upsets in women’s fights in history: being the clear underdog, Alexa not only defeated the dominant champion in the division, but also inflicted Shevchenko with the first defeat early in his career.
Read more about the first fight between Grasso and Shevchenko
Shock, fantasy and fairy tale. Valya Shevchenko surrendered in battle with a fragile Mexican
Shevchenko came to the UFC with a 7-1 record and in the best league in the world, before the fight with Grasso, she suffered only two defeats, both by decision of the legendary Amanda Nunes and the second time by split decision. . After this, Valentina moved up to flyweight, where she began to dominate and rule. Nine wins in a row, seven title defenses – Shevchenko seemed invincible.
The first alarm sounded back in June 2022, when Valentina defeated Tayla Santos by split decision in a very difficult fight. Shevchenko in that fight was not the confident champion who had previously cleaned the division for five years without any chance for her opponents.
Perhaps that fight also influenced the fight with Grasso. Shevchenko allowed the Mexican to impose her style in the first round, Alexa, being a basic representative of boxing, gave the champion a good shot in the standing position. Having managed to rebuild herself, Valentina took the second and third rounds thanks to her fighting and control: Shevchenko, without problems, knocked her opponent to the ground, where she dominated and took the fight on points. The champion led all the judges’ cards with a score of 29-28, but in the fourth round she made a mistake that Grasso immediately took advantage of. Shevchenko turned her back on her opponent for a second, Alexa quickly got her bearings and performed a choke.
Shevchenko in the last two fights did not look as convincing as before and, of course, many were worried that Valentina had simply passed her peak and her career was declining. Furthermore, Pula is already 35 years old, and that also says a lot.
But at the same time, even if we take Shevchenko’s last two not very successful fights, in the first case, although by split decision, she won, and in the second she led the judges’ scores and brought the fight to its logic. conclusion in her favor. And if it weren’t for a mistake at the end of the fourth round, there is no doubt that Valentina would have achieved victory.
But what happened happened. A cold shower in the form of defeat will encourage Shevchenko. She has all the skills to return the belt, she has the character of a champion. Of course, there will be a competent game plan, given the defeat in the first match. And now there is also motivation. It’s no secret that when a person achieves his desired goal, he relaxes a little. Yes, Valentina had five years of ordinary title defenses and successfully fulfilled her task until March of this year. But the routine and lack of new challenges play a cruel joke on the fighters. Now Shevchenko has something to prove to herself, to her fans and experts, and especially to the haters, who have already buried her career. And it seems that Valentina is very serious.
Conclusions after Shevchenko’s defeat against Grasso
Revenge for arrogance. Valya Shevchenko needs to undergo purification from defeat
“I’m going into battle to win. I go out to him to destroy Grasso. I entered the fight not to have fun, but to take what is mine and show not the best version of myself, but the greatest,” Shevchenko said in an interview with Low Kick MMA.
The betting houses have Valentina as a favorite for the next fight. Many experts and fighters also believe in Shevchenko. For example, former UFC champion Rose Namajunas considers Valentina the best fighter in history.
“I really think Valentina is the best fighter. I have great confidence that she will get the championship belt back from her. At the same time, I don’t rule out Alexa. She legitimately looked better in the first fight. However, in the end I think Valentina will be a UFC champion again,” Namajunas said in an interview with New York Post Sports.
But of course, Shevchenko will definitely not have it easy in the next fight. Grasso performed well in the last fight and has no intention of giving up the belt without a fight. In addition, Grasso aspires to the knockout.
“Every fight is unique. You always have a plan in your head and you never know how your opponent will respond, but I can say that I am going to win this fight. I punched him in the first round, I was very close to a knockout, but it didn’t happen. I was very close, so nothing will change. I’m going to win no matter how the fight goes. I will make her surrender or I will knock her out,” Grasso said as quoted by Yahoo Sport.
