Alexa Grasso, Valentina Shevchenko Discuss Impact of Fighting at The Sphere

If co-headlining a card centered on a celebration of Mexican
Independence Day wasn’t enough, Alex Grasso will also get to take
part in the
UFC’s groundbreaking effort at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

The reigning strawweight champion, who will face Valentina
Shevchenko in the UFC
306 co-main event on Saturday, is looking forward to the
experience.

“It’s huge,” she told UFC.com. “Mexico is growing so fast in MMA. We
always shine in combat sports, and I think that’s something great.
The UFC loves how we fight. We always go forward. This means a lot.
It just keeps me thinking that I have to train harder. I feel proud
and honored to be there.”

Grasso already has firsthand experience seeing what The Sphere has
to offer, but fighting in the venue figures to be something
different entirely. During each fight, different worlds will be
shown on the massive LED screen.

“I think the experience is going to be huge because I’ve been
there. I went to watch a show, and it’s amazing. It’s
breathtaking,” she said. “Now knowing there will be MMA fights in
there with that experience, with those images, it’s huge. It gives
me chills. It’s amazing.”

Shevchenko, meanwhile, compared it to fighting at the promotion’s
return to a live audience after crowds were not allowed for months
during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For athletes to be in the first ever event in Sphere, it’s never
happened before, it’s a huge event,” Shevchenko said. “It’s
something with a very special meaning. It’s the same feeling when I
fought in the first event after the pandemic in Jacksonville [at
UFC 261], and the atmosphere in there, it was electrifying. So
huge. And I expect something similar and even bigger to be in
Sphere.”

Once it’s time to fight, Shevchenko won’t be thinking about all the
bells and whistles that the venue has to offer. It’s a sentiment
that is likely shared by most fighters, who must be focused on
their opponent above all else.

“It’s very hard for me to imagine what it’s going to be and how
it’s going to be because I know for sure, when I go into the fight,
I have tunnel vision,” Shevchenko said. “I don’t see what’s
happening around. I don’t see anyone’s face. I don’t see anything
that’s happening. I barely hear people. So, it’s hard for me to
imagine, but looking back, when you see how it was on tape, it’s
going to show how big it was, and you understand how huge the event
was.”