Though their last meeting officially ended in a split draw,
Valentina Shevchenko remains adamant that she deserved the nod
against Alexa
Grasso at UFC Fight Night 227 last September.
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The deciding scorecard ultimately came from judge Michael Bell, who
submitted a 10-8 fifth round in favor of Grasso. Prior to that,
Bell had Shevchenko ahead 3-1 through four rounds. If he had scored
the final stanza 10-9 for Grasso, Shevchenko would have regained
the flyweight crown via split decision.
Shevchenko will get a chance to erase the sting of that moment when
she squares off against Grasso for a third time in the co-main
event of UFC
306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
“Our previous fight, I won that fight and only because of an
interesting decision of one judge, it went to the draw decision,”
Shevchenko recently told UFC.com. “If you ask the world of martial arts,
everyone who understands fighting, all the judges and everything,
they definitely saw me win in the fight. I think it’s good for
everyone and you see me winning on the second fight, so it’s kind
of like stick to the same game plan, do the same thing, be myself
and win the fight.”
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Shevchenko had already established herself as one of the top
pound-for-pound talents in women’s MMA before she faced Grasso for
the first time at UFC 285. What transpired on that evening was one
of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport, as Grasso
claimed the 125-pound throne with a fourth-round submission
victory. Since then, “Bullet” has been focused on getting the belt
back.
“True supporters, they understand the truth and they’re with you,
no matter what,” Shevchenko said. “A champion’s mindset is to
follow your way, follow your path in this world and if you know
your path and what you have to do, it’s easy because no matter
what’s happening around you, every time you are going to stick to
one plan.”
Before their trilogy, Shevchenko and Grasso spent plenty of time
together on set during filming of “The Ultimate Fighter 32.” The
rivals were relatively cordial on the show, but for Shevchenko,
respect is simply part of being a martial artist.
“I’ve been in martial arts all my life already, 31 years in
training,” Shevchenko said. “For me, martial arts is more than just
a fight, it’s more than just a show; it’s my life, it’s my
lifestyle and I respect my opponents. I respect everyone.”