Alexa
Grasso has developed a weird chemistry with longtime foe
Valentina
Shevchenko ahead of their upcoming fight.
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Grasso will look to defend the women’s flyweight title in a trilogy
title fight against Shevchenko in the co-main event at UFC
306 on Sept. 14 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. In addition to
their history inside the Octagon, Grasso and Shevchenko are also
coming off their stints as rival coaches on Season 32 of “The
Ultimate Fighter.”
Having shared the set on “TUF 32,” Grasso revealed that she
inevitably ended up spending a lot of time with Shevchenko. With
less than two weeks to go before they trade leather, the champ
claims her relationship with Shevchenko is “really, really weird.”
However, Grasso also knows that all that will be left aside on
fight night as they put their bodies on the line for UFC gold.
Proud to be a part of the first women’s trilogy in UFC history,
Grasso promises another barnburner at UFC 306.
“We’ve been so many times together, we’ve been like talking a lot
in the show,” Grasso told MMAjunkie.com. “I mean a lot of faceoffs, again
and again. It’s really, really weird. I mean, I can tell it’s
really weird. But at the end of the day, on fight week and the day
of the fight, things change. We’re out there trying to kill each
other, so that’s the most important thing. And it’s really cool to
be able to meet her more and able to do a lot of stuff together. I
admire her, she has done so much. And she’s a really big
inspiration. To be on this stage, doing same things, making
history. We’re doing something really cool, first women trilogy.
First fight was amazing, second fight was so, so amazing, and you
can expect the third fight will be a hell of a fight.”
Grasso challenged Shevchenko for the first time at UFC 285 in March
2023. “Bullet” was winning on all scorecards before a failed
spinning attack exposed her back to Grasso, who lost no time in
securing a face crank to earn a huge upset win in the fourth round.
The two met in a rematch in September 2023 at Noche UFC, which is
the promotion’s yearly tribute to the Mexican Independence Day.
After going toe-to-toe for five rounds, the fight was judged a
controversial split draw and Grasso retained her belt. Shevchenko
later
protested that the scorecards were tilted for the Mexican champ
to retain her belt due to the backdrop of the event.
The Kyrgyz icon was even
reluctant to fight Grasso at UFC 306, which is also being
billed as Noche UFC Riyadh Season. Shevchenko has a lot at stake
going into the trilogy, where a loss will likely remove her from
the title picture for the time being. Grasso believes Shevchenko
has a measured style that has been detrimental to her in their
fights. Grasso hopes Shevchenko comes out more aggressively at UFC
306, and she looks forward to it.
“She has a style that waits too much. She’s just going back, back,
back… If you want get your belt back, I don’t think that’s great to
do that. If you want the belt you have to go for it… I would love
that… I know exactly what I need to do to secure my win but I hope
that she can do more exchanges and go forward and chase that belt.”