Valentina Shevchenko fell just short in her bid to reclaim the UFC women’s flyweight title against Alexa Grasso this evening.
Shevchenko (23-4-1 MMA) and Grasso (16-3-1 MMA) squared off for a second time tonight in Las Vegas. The pair had previously collided at UFC 285 back in March, where Grasso shocked the world by scoring a fourth-round submission victory over the longtime champion.
Prior to that setback, ‘The Bullet’ had strung together a nine-fight win streak which included seven consecutive title defenses.
As for Grasso, prior to her title-earning submission win over Valentina Shevchenko, the Mexican standout was on a four-fighting winning streak defeating the likes of Kim Ji-yeon, Maycee Barber, Joanne Wood and Viviane Araujo.
Tonight’s rematch resulted in a very competitive five-round contest. Shevchenko had a strong opening round, but wound up getting dropped by Grasso in Round 2 (see that here). ‘The Bullet’ proceeded to rebound in Round 3, but rounds four and five were not exactly definitive.
After twenty-five minutes of action the bout was ruled a split draw (48-47, 47-48, 47-47) allowing Alexa Grasso to once again take home the flyweight title.
Shortly following the conclusion of tonight’s event, Valentina Shevchenko spoke with TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter where she addressed the disappointing result.
“I felt it’s a little bit unfair,” Shevchenko responded when asked if she felt robbed. “I felt it was three rounds my side. Like two rounds her side. I felt the 10-8 (round) is kind of like completely not right.”
Valentina Shevchenko continued:
“But I feel that maybe the pressure of Mexican Independence Day, it was like affecting the judges decision. I’m happy that I did everything to the best that I can. To give all fans the best fight that I could give. So this is what I’m proud of.”
Check out the full video interview below (via X):
Full post-fight interview with @BulletValentina on the 10-8 round, her injury, whether she believes a trilogy is next and more pic.twitter.com/1I2Y3tfFQx
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 17, 2023
Would you like to see Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso run it back a third time following tonight’s controversial result in Las Vegas?
