2024-09-15 16:20:02
Valentina Shevchenko is again the UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion.
On Saturday night, Shevchenko won a dominant unanimous decision win (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) over Alexa Grasso to take the third meeting between the two women.
Shevchenko used dominant wrestling and impeccable submission defense to win every round on all three judges’ scorecards. While Grasso won the first fight by submission with a neck crank and escaped the second meeting with a draw, Shevchenko’s win in the third fight was the most dominant performance in the trilogy.
Shevchenko secured eight takedowns and held a whopping 16:04 control time in the fight. Rather than risking things on the feet with Grasso, an excellent boxer, Shevchenko took the champion down whenever she had the chance.
Grasso seemed prepared to fight off her back. She offered multiple submission attempts but couldn’t lock Shevchenko up in anything that would have her in legitimate trouble.
Looking ahead, Manon Fiorot, who weighed in successfully and was prepared to step in had Shevchenko or Grasso missed weight, is likely next up for a title shot.
Valentina Shevchenko’s Last 5 Fights Before Defeating Alexa Grasso
- Draw with Alexa Grasso by split draw at UFC Fight Night on September 16, 2023.
- Loss to Alexa Grasso by submission (rear-naked choke) at UFC 285 on March 4, 2023.
- Win against Taila Santos by split decision at UFC 275 on June 11, 2022.
- Win against Lauren Murphy by TKO (punches) at UFC 266 on September 25, 2021.
- Win against Jéssica Andrade by TKO (elbows) at UFC 261 on April 24, 2021.
Grasso will need to win a fight or two before putting herself in a position to regain her title. Because we’ve already seen Grasso-Shevchenko three times, it may be challenging for Grasso to put himself in a position for another title shot–at least against her rival.
Grasso may be looking at a fight with another top contender at 125 pounds before she can put herself back in immediate contention.
Alexa Grasso’s Last 5 Fights Before Losing to Valentina Shevchenko
- Draw with Valentina Shevchenko by split draw at UFC Fight Night on September 16, 2023.
- Win against Valentina Shevchenko by submission (rear-naked choke) at UFC 285 on March 4, 2023.
- Win against Viviane Araújo by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night on October 15, 2022.
- Win against Joanne Wood by submission (rear-naked choke) at UFC Fight Night on March 26, 2022.
- Win against Maycee Barber by unanimous decision at UFC 258 on February 13, 2021.
Here is a look at all of the results from Noche UFC.
UFC 306 Main Card Results
- Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
- Valentina Shevchenko def. Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (50-45×3)
- Diego Lopes defeats Brian Ortega via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Esteban Ribovics defeats Daniel Zellhuber via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ronaldo Rodriguez defeats Ode Osbourne via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
UFC 306 Preliminary Card Results
- Norma Dumont defeats Irene Aldana via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
- Ignacio Bahamondes defeats Manuel Torres via TKO at 4:02 of Round 1
- Ketlen Souza defeats Yazmin Jauregui via submission at 3:02 of Round 1 (Rear-naked choke)
- Joshua Van defeats Edgar Chairez via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
UFC 306 Early Preliminary Card Results
- Raul Rosas Jr. defeats Aoriqileng via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)