Grasso, Shevchenko renew hostilities at Fight Night

Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko will renew their rivalry with a UFC women’s flyweight championship match at a Fight Night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 17 September 2023.

Grasso (16-3) defeated Shevchenko (23-4) via a fourth-round submission (face crank) when the pair met at UFC 285 back in March.

It was Shevchenko’s first defeat since 2017 and made Grasso one of just three fighters who have overcome ‘Bullet’, joining Liz Carmouche and the great Amanda Nunes (who twice got the better of the Kyrgyzstani).

Many of Grasso’s critics believe she ‘fluked’ her win over Shevchenko, making the 30-year-old Mexican determined to finish her rival for a second time and put any such speculation to bed.

“I would love to knock her out, but I would also like to submit her again with a rear-naked choke so people don’t think it was luck, a mistake or anything like that,” Grasso explained.

“I had my plan really clear. I knew she was going to turn, and that was it. It could end by submission, it could be a knockout, but I will win.”

Shevchenko will be looking to become a two-time flyweight champion, though UFC commentator Michael Bisping believes she is no longer the force of nature that she used to be.

“It might sound crazy, but I think Alexa is the better fighter. That doesn’t sound crazy to me at all. I thought Alexa looked really good. I think that Valentina Shevchenko has been a dominant force for so long, but everyone has their time. Everyone has their end. Everyone has their beginning of the end,” said Bisping.

“Is this the beginning of the end of Shevchenko? Are her best days behind her? I don’t know – maybe. Maybe she had an off night. Maybe Alexa Grasso is just a better fighter. I thought she looked very well. It certainly wasn’t a fluke.”

The rest of the main card features a high-class welterweight battle between Kevin Holland and Jack Della Maddalena; a bantamweight match pitting Raul Rosas Jr againts Terrence Mitchell; Daniel Zelhuber v Christos Giagos in the lightweight category; and a featherweight opener between Fernando Padilla and Kyle Nelson.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT: GRASSO VS. SHEVCHENKO 2 - MAIN CARD

- Main event: Women’s flyweight championship: Alexa Grasso v Valentina Shevchenko

- Welterweight: Kevin Holland v Jack Della Maddalena

- Bantamweight: Raul Rosas Jr v Terrence Mitchell

- Lightweight: Daniel Zelhuber v Christos Giagos

- Featherweight: Fernando Padilla v Kyle Nelson