Alexa Grasso Loves Pressure That Comes With Being Champion

The biggest change Alexa
Grasso has felt since becoming champion is the pressure that
comes with it.

Grasso became the women’s flyweight champ with a massive upset win
over Valentina
Shevchenko at UFC 285 in March 2023. The Mexican champ went on
to retain her strap with a slightly controversial split draw in a
rematch against Shevchenko at Noche UFC in September 2023. Grasso
is now set to put her strap on the line against “Bullet” in a
trilogy clash in the co-main event at UFC
306 this weekend at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Speaking of what has changed since achieving championship status,
the typically humble Grasso says not much has, apart from the
responsibilities. With the strap comes the burden of not losing it.
Grasso feels there’s so much at stake now that she cannot afford to
not be her absolute best even for a single day. And the 31-year-old
loves it.

“It didn’t change a lot…I just know that I have more
responsibilities,” Grasso recently told UFC.com. “I need more discipline. There’s a lot
more in the game. You can’t allow yourself for one day to not do
your best. That’s the thing that changed it the most. And I’m
happy; I love challenges, I love to push myself every day. I love
the pressure. And that’s a big change. Since I got in the UFC, of
course, my goal was to be the champion, and I achieved it.”

In addition to their two outings in the Octagon, Grasso and
Shevchenko also spent a lot of time together on the set of “The
Ultimate Fighter 32” earlier this year. However, Grasso isn’t tired
of thinking about Shevchenko or the idea of fighting her and is
more excited than ever for the trilogy.

“No, I’m not tired of thinking about her or competing against her,”
Grasso said. “Honestly, like I’ve said it a million times: it’s a
woman that I admire so much. Both of us have been working so hard
all this last year. Having these opportunities is not magic. No, we
earn it. We’ve been working so hard. The two fights we had were so
good. And I’m just excited and more motivated than ever to fight
again.”

Grasso and “Bullet” have always been mutually respectful, even
while the latter claimed to have been robbed of a win in the
rematch. Grasso notes that the relationship between them is that of
competitors who both know what sacrifices it takes to reach the
level that they have.

“The relationship between us is about competition,” Grasso said.
“We love to compete against each other. We are, of course,
respectful to each other because we know how hard is to be here,
how hard it is to do a fight camp, a diet, how to be a champion.
And we both know all the effort we need to be here. So, it’s just
respect. Of course, there’s [occasional] tension because we’ve
spent a lot of time together all the last years. But yeah, I think
that we love to compete against each other.”