Valentina Shevchenko shocked by number of fighters who picked against her ahead of UFC 306 trilogy with Alexa Grasso
Valentina Shevchenko was caught off guard when a sizable portion of UFC fighters picked against her ahead of a trilogy fight against Alexa Grasso.
Shevchenko and Grasso fought each other a third time in the co-main event of UFC 306. The women’s flyweight title was at stake. “Bullet” turned in a one-sided performance thanks to her grappling, reclaiming UFC gold in the process.
Shevchenko was happy to prove a point with how dominant she was against the only 125-pounder to defeat her thus far.
Valentina Shevchenko Happy to Have Silenced Doubters
Valentina Shevchenko recently spoke with MMAFighting.com. She wasn’t expecting as many UFC athletes to pick against her before the trilogy bout with Alexa Grasso.
“Surprisingly for me, many UFC fighters, many pro fighters when they had their picks before our third fight they said ‘Grasso … oh Grasso.’ It was kind of one-sided,” Shevchenko told MMA Fighting.
“It was a little bit surprising for me that I would take it from people who don’t know much about martial arts, and they just want to see stupid in the striking, like [finding out] who has a stronger chin, a stronger head and it doesn’t involve too much technique, too much fighter IQ, too much of the character of the fighter. I would take it from those people but when pro fighters say that, it was like, oh my God. There’s something wrong with this world. That’s another reason I had to show domination. I had to show I’m superior in every field.”
With Grasso now behind her, the door is open for a fresh women’s flyweight title fight. Manon Fiorot is the number two-ranked female 125-pounder, and appears to be the clear number one contender.
Fiorot has won 12 fights in a row. Her lone career defeat was her very first pro bout. She’s defeated the likes of Erin Blanchfield, Rose Namajunas, and Mayra Bueno Silva.
