Though their last meeting officially ended in a split draw, Valentina Shevchenko remains adamant that she deserved the nod against Alexa Grasso at UFC Fight Night 227 last September.
The deciding scorecard ultimately came from judge Michael Bell, who submitted a 10-8 fifth round in favor of Grasso. Prior to that, Bell had Shevchenko ahead 3-1 through four rounds. If he had scored the final stanza 10-9 for Grasso, Shevchenko would have regained the flyweight crown via split decision.
Shevchenko will get a chance to erase the sting of that moment when she squares off against Grasso for a third time in the co-main event of UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
“Our previous fight, I won that fight and only because of an interesting decision of one judge, it went to the draw decision,” Shevchenko recently told UFC.com. “If you ask the world of martial arts, everyone who understands fighting, all the judges and everything, they definitely saw me win in the fight. I think it’s good for everyone and you see me winning on the second fight, so it’s kind of like stick to the same game plan, do the same thing, be myself and win the fight.”
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Shevchenko had already established herself as one of the top pound-for-pound talents in women’s MMA before she faced Grasso for the first time at UFC 285. What transpired on that evening was one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport, as Grasso claimed the 125-pound throne with a fourth-round submission victory. Since then, “Bullet” has been focused on getting the belt back.
“True supporters, they understand the truth and they’re with you, no matter what,” Shevchenko said. “A champion’s mindset is to follow your way, follow your path in this world and if you know your path and what you have to do, it’s easy because no matter what’s happening around you, every time you are going to stick to one plan.”
Before their trilogy, Shevchenko and Grasso spent plenty of time together on set during filming of “The Ultimate Fighter 32.” The rivals were relatively cordial on the show, but for Shevchenko, respect is simply part of being a martial artist.
“I’ve been in martial arts all my life already, 31 years in training,” Shevchenko said. “For me, martial arts is more than just a fight, it’s more than just a show; it’s my life, it’s my lifestyle and I respect my opponents. I respect everyone.”
