Shevchenko Confident About Beating Grasso – ‘Everyone Saw The Second Fight’
Valentina Shevchenko is adamant that she beat Alexa Grasso in their second fight at UFC Noche last year.
The fight was declared a split draw after Mike Bell scored the final round 10-8 in favor of Grasso. The result meant Grasso kept her UFC Flyweight Title after beating Valentina in their first fight at UFC 285. Dana White was unhappy with the scoring, and both fighters suffered injuries, which delayed the trilogy. The third fight will now take place at UFC 306 from The Sphere in Las Vegas on September 14.
It is The Sphere’s first combat sports event, making it a historic moment. Shevchenko is considered one of the best-ever female fighters in the sport. She broke the record set by Ronda Rousey for having the most successful title defenses. Rousey set the record at six before Valentina broke it with seven. Her MMA record is 23-4-1 as she chases more legacy.
Valentina Reacts
Heading into this fight, Valentina and Grasso admit their relationship is weird. They also competed as rival coaches on the TUF 32 series. While there are question marks over the tactics in this third fight, Shevchenko is adamant that she showed enough in the second fight to emerge victorious.
“Speaking seriously, you know why we are speaking about third fight? It’s only because the second fight — everyone saw the fight, everyone knows, everyone was very surprised because of the mistake and error of a judge, what he did and if it [were not for him], everyone saw that I was the winner of this fight.
“I did enough to win the fight, like three rounds from the five. It was enough to win the fight. It’s only the reason why we are speaking about our trilogy. Everything [that] I did, it worked, everything, what I did in the second fight, all my strategy, it worked,” Valentina said
Grasso’s Aims
Nevertheless, Grasso is also confident in her abilities. She still has a win over Valentina, giving her confidence that even on her worst day, she can secure a split draw. Grasso will also fight on Mexican Independence Weekend, giving her more of an incentive to come out victorious.
Grasso has spoken about becoming a two-weight world champion. Those ambitions will become a step closer if she can silence the critics that emerged from her last fight. She has earmarked a fight with Zhang Weili, the strawweight champion, in the future. But Valentina is the immediate focus.
“Weili Zhang is my dream fight. It will be one of my biggest fights to date. She is strong, powerful, and well-rounded. She is a great fighter and I even heard she would love to test herself at 125, so I would love to welcome her.’ I would love to be a two-weight world champion, it is such a big question and goal for me,” Grasso stated
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