Alexa
Grasso knows what it’s like to be on the outside looking in as
a title hopeful.
So while her rematch with Valentina
Shevchenko didn’t bring any closure to their rivalry, Grasso
didn’t seem especially excited jumping right back into a trilogy
with “Bullet” in her next Octagon appearance.
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“It’s an interesting question,” Grasso said at the UFC Fight Night
227 post-fight press conference. “I don’t like to stop the
division. There’s a lot of girls fighting to have this opportunity
like I did, so I don’t like to stop it.”
If the promotion wants Grasso to run it back with Shevchenko
immediately, she won’t offer serious resistance. However, there are
other worthy contenders at flyweight, with both Erin
Blanchfield and Manon
Fiorot putting togething impressive runs in the division.
“It all depends on the UFC. If they want a trilogy, let’s do this,”
Grasso said. “If not, I would like to give an opportunity for
another girl. I know how it is to be fighting all the time, to wait
for your spot, and I wouldn’t like to stop this division. But
whatever the UFC says.”
Were it not for Mike Bell
awarding Grasso a 10-8 fifth round on his scorecard, Shevchenko
would have reclaimed the flyweight belt via split decision in the
Noche UFC headliner at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night. Still,
Grasso authored some of the fight’s most memorable moments, as she
floored Shevchenko with a right hand in Round 2 and ended the fight
attached to her opponent’s back. The Lobo Gym MMA export believes
her efforts were worthy of a victory.
“I’m happy with my performance,” Grasso said. “For me it was 3-2 —
the second, fourth, and fifth were for me — but I’m not the
judge.”
The aforementioned knockdown was the first suffered by Shevchenko
in her decorated UFC tenure. Grasso noticed that her rival, who
landed four takedowns in the fight, began to rely more on wrestling
and control after that moment.
“I was expecting that,” Grasso said. “I know I always do damage
with my hands and it’s something I was expecting from her, so I was
prepared. When you have a good punch, of course you have to change
your strategy, and I knew that she changed.”
Grasso’s fourth-round submission victory against Shevchenko at UFC
285 will go down as one of the biggest upsets in promotion history,
but her continued growth was even more evident in Saturday’s
rematch, as she held her own against a determined opponent looking
to avenge that defeat.
“The plan was the finish the fight, but I showed my power,” Grasso
said. “I’ve been showing, every single fight, my evolution,
everything I’ve been working, and I’m just happy with everything I
did in that fight.”