The biggest change Alexa Grasso has noticed since becoming champion is the pressure that comes with it.
Grasso became the women’s flyweight champion with a major upset win over Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285 in March 2023. The Mexican champion defended the belt in a somewhat controversial split draw in a rematch with Shevchenko at UFC Noche in September 2023. Grasso is now set to put the belt on the line in a trilogy showdown against “Bullet” in the co-main event of UFC 306 this weekend at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
As for what has changed since assuming champion status, the ever-humble Grasso says not much has changed except for the responsibility. With the belt comes the burden of not losing it. Grasso feels that the stakes are now so high that he can’t afford not to perform at his best, even for one day. And the 31-year-old loves it.
“Not much has changed… I just know I have more responsibility,” Grasso recently told UFC.com. “I need to be more disciplined. There’s a lot more to the fight. I can’t afford a day where I’m not doing my best. That’s the biggest change. And I’m happy. I like the challenge, I like pushing myself every day, I like the pressure. And that’s a big change. My goal when I came to UFC was to be champion, and I achieved that.”UFC 306: O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili Saturday at 10 pm ET on ESPN+. Order now!
In addition to their two bouts inside the Octagon, Grasso and Shevchenko also spent plenty of time together on the set of “The Ultimate Fighter 32” earlier this year. But Grasso never tires of thinking about Shevchenko and fighting her, and he’s more excited than ever for the trilogy.
“No, I’m not tired of thinking about her or fighting her,” Grasso said. “Honestly, as I’ve said many times before, she’s a woman I have a lot of respect for. We’ve both been working hard all year. It’s not magic to be given an opportunity like this. No, we’ve worked hard to get it. We’ve trained hard. Both of our fights have been great, and I’m excited to fight again and more motivated than ever.”
Grasso and “The Bullet” have always had a mutual respect for each other, despite the latter claiming he was robbed of the win in the rematch, and Grasso points out that their relationship is that of competitors who know the sacrifices they have had to make to get to the level they are at.
“Our relationship is competitive,” Grasso said. “We love competing against each other. And of course, we respect each other because we know how hard it is to be here, how hard it is with fight camps and diets and how to become a champion. And we know all the work that it takes to be here. So, it’s just a respect, of course. [occasional] “I’m not nervous because we’ve spent a lot of time together over the last few years, but yeah, I think we just like competing with each other.”
