Alexa Grasso dealt with the weight of expectations years before she authored a career-defining upset against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285.
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Dana White once called Grasso the potential “Ronda Rousey of Mexico,” a label the Lobo Gym MMA export struggled to meet to during the ups and downs of her early career. After going 3-3 in her first six Octagon appearances, Grasso has hit her stride with a five-bout UFC winning streak that culminated in her claiming flyweight gold in Saturday’s co-main event.“Imagine that. I won the most important fight of my life,” Grasso said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I did everything I had to do to get my hand raised, and I knew that I had to finish the fight no matter what.”
Grasso was a considerable underdog against Shevchenko, who is widely regarded as one of the top two or three female pound-for-pound talents in the sport. She never appeared out of her depth against “Bullet,” however, and that eve…