Alexa Grasso recently reacted to Merab Dvalishvili taking on the role of honorary Mexican.
Grasso will defend her women’s flyweight title for the third time against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 306 on Saturday at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The card, also known as UFC Riyadh Season Noche, is UFC’s annual event celebrating Mexican Independence Day. The card is primarily comprised of Mexican fighters, but the main event will not feature a fighter of Mexican descent. In the main event of UFC 306, Sean O’Malley will defend his bantamweight title against Dvalishvili, who will serve as the honorary Mexican.
The Georgia star recently visited the Mexican city of Tijuana, where he experienced Mexican dancing and sampled tacos.
Grasso, a Mexican native, said he was pleased that Dvalishvili would take on the role of honorary Mexican.
“It’s so cool that he’s doing all that stuff, it’s so funny,” the UFC women’s flyweight champion told Shakeel Majli. “Tasting the food, dancing, trying to connect with the Mexican crowd, it’s so fun to watch.”
UFC 306: O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili airs Saturday at 10pm ET on ESPN+. Order now!
Dvalishvili’s stay in Mexico began just prior to his unanimous decision win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 in February of this year. “The Machine,” who identifies himself as Mexican, accused the American of not embracing Mexican culture despite his Mexican roots.
Grasso, meanwhile, won the belt with a surprise submission win over Shevchenko in March 2023 and defended it in a controversial split draw at UFC’s inaugural event, “Noche,” last September. Grasso still believes she won that bout and that the scorecards were dictated by the importance of the event, but she appears to have bounced back from that controversy entering the trilogy.
“I’m not thinking about that,” she said. “I’m just focusing on my match and myself and just wanting to play another match and win.”
