Although their last bout officially ended in a split draw, Valentina Shevchenko remains adamant that she deserved her win over Alexa Grasso at UFC Fight Night 227 last September.
The final decisive scorecard was from referee Michael Bell, who had the fifth round scored 10-8 in Grasso’s favor, after four rounds in which Bell had previously scored Shevchenko 3-1 ahead. If Grasso had won the final round 10-9, Shevchenko would have reclaimed the flyweight title by split decision.
Shevchenko will get a chance to erase the pain of that moment when she faces Grasso for a third time on Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
“I won the last fight, but it was a draw thanks to an interesting decision by one judge,” Shevchenko recently told UFC.com. “If you ask the martial arts world, everyone that understands martial arts, all the judges and everyone else, they definitely see me winning that fight. I think that’s good for everybody, and they see me winning the second fight, so it’s just like, stick to the same game plan, do the same things and win the fight the way I am.”UFC 306: O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili airs Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Order your copy now!
Shevchenko had established herself as one of the top pound-for-pound contenders in women’s mixed martial arts before her first encounter with Grasso at UFC 285. That night, Grasso pulled off one of the sport’s biggest upsets by submitting her in the fourth round to claim the 125-pound title, and since then, “Brett” has been focused on reclaiming the belt.
“True supporters understand the truth and are on your side no matter what,” Shevchenko said. “The mindset of a champion is to follow your own path and make your way in this world. If you know your path and what you have to do, it’s easy because no matter what’s going on around you, you’re always going to stick to one plan.”
Shevchenko and Grasso spent a lot of time together prior to the trilogy on the set of “The Ultimate Fighter 32,” and while the rivals were relatively friendly on the show, for Shevchenko, respect is simply part of being a fighter.
“I’ve been in martial arts for a long time, I’ve been training for 31 years,” Shevchenko said. “For me martial arts is not just a fight, it’s not just a show. It’s my life, it’s my lifestyle, and I respect my opponents. I respect everybody.”
