Getty Valentina Shevchenko & Alexa Grasso
Mexico’s Alexa Grasso is the new women’s UFC flyweight champion after she ended Valentina Shevchenko’s dominant reign on Saturday night.
Grasso and Shevchenko fought during the UFC 285 co-main event on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. After Grasso found success on the feet in the first round, Shevchenko started utilizing her grappling to take over the fight. But, it was Grasso’s grappling that ultimately paid off. Grasso used Shevchenko’s spinning back kick against her, snatching her back as soon as she threw it in the fourth round.
Then, she caught the No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound female with a rear-naked choke, forcing the submission.
Shevchenko called for an immediate rematch while speaking with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan inside the Octagon. And considering Shevchenko was on her eighth title defense, the promotion will likely grant her the opportunity.
The MMA Community Reacted to the Fight on Twitter
Here are some reactions from the MMA community on Twitter:
Current UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling wrote: “That speed of how quickly Grasso put the hooks in to took take her back was wild! Crazy upset!”
“Stop throwing spinning s***!” Sterling tweeted.
“Wooooow,” “The MMA Hour” host Ariel Helwani tweeted. “Alexa Grasso has just subbed Valentina Shevchenko via RNC. She is the new women’s flyweight champion. Mexico has another champion.
“Alexa Grasso fought the fight of her life,” he continued. “Rose to the occasion. That was phenomenal stuff and a phenomenal finish from someone who isn’t as well known for her ground game. All of a sudden Mexico has 2 undisputed UFC champs and 1 interim. 5-6 years that would have been unfathomable.”
“This concludes one of the most dominant title reigns in UFC history,” Helwani finished. “Shevchenko barely lost a round at 125 up until recently. Stunning to see her without the belt after all these years.”
CBS Sports’ Luke Thomas tweeted: “You don’t need a takedown in modern MMA. You just need back exposure. What presence of mind from Alexa Grasso!”
“Several (former) UFC champs (Usman, Izzy, Shevchenko) losing late in a sudden burst after more or less controlling most of the fight,” he continued. “Wild times.”
MMA writer Tom Taylor tweeted: “We STAN Alexa Grasso.”
“OMG MEXICO,” ESPN’s Brett Okamoto tweeted.
Dana White Praised Grasso’s Performance, Didn’t Commit to Staging an Immediate Rematch
“She looked awesome tonight,” UFC president Dana White said at the UFC 285 post-fight press conference. “Her hands looked really good. When she got taken down and was on her back, I loved how busy she was in the guard. Kept moving, kept Valentina working. Kept throwing punches. I mean, she came in with an awesome game plan tonight and executed it perfectly
“I think a lot of people, including me, thought that Valentina was probably going to be too strong for her, too much for her. She proved everybody wrong and she looked incredible tonight.”
When asked if Shevchenko would receive an immediate opportunity to reclaim her championship, White said: “I don’t know. But, yeah. Probably. But, sitting right here right now, I haven’t even thought of that. Only you guys think of s*** like that after just watching what we watched tonight.”