Alexa Grasso is developing a strange chemistry with longtime rival Valentina Shevchenko ahead of their upcoming bout.
Grasso will seek to defend her women’s flyweight title in a trilogy title fight against Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC 306 at The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14. In addition to their history inside the Octagon, Grasso and Shevchenko also served as rival coaches on Season 32 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Sharing the set of “TUF 32,” Grasso revealed that she inevitably ended up spending a lot of time with Shevchenko. With less than two weeks until their bout, the champion claims her relationship with Shevchenko is “really, really weird.” But Grasso knows that will all be forgotten on fight day, when she puts her body on the line for UFC gold. Proud to be part of UFC’s first-ever women’s trilogy, Grasso promises another intense bout at UFC 306.
“We’ve been together a lot, we talk a lot on the show,” Grasso told MMAjunkie.com. “We’ve had face-offs a lot, a lot. It’s really, really weird. I know it’s really weird. But at the end of the day, things change during fight week and fight day. We’re trying to kill each other, so that’s the biggest thing. And it’s really cool to see her more and do so much together. I look up to her. She’s accomplished so much, and she’s such a big inspiration. To be on this stage, doing the same thing, making history. We’re doing something really cool. It’s the first women’s trilogy. The first fight was awesome. The second fight was really awesome. And you can expect the third fight to be one hell of a fight.”
Grasso first challenged Shevchenko at UFC 285 in March 2023. “The Bullet” was winning on all scorecards, but a failed spinning attack exposed Grasso’s back, and Grasso quickly scored a face crank in the fourth round to score an upset victory. The two rematched in September 2023 at Noche UFC, a promotion dedicated annually to Mexican Independence Day. After five hard-fought rounds, the bout was ruled a controversial split draw, with Grasso retaining her belt. Shevchenko later protested that due to the context of the event, the scorecards were tilted in favor of the Mexican champion retaining the belt.
The Kyrgyzstan fighter was even reluctant to fight Grasso at UFC 306 (also known as the Noche UFC season in Riyadh). Shevchenko is taking big risks heading into the trilogy and a loss would likely put her out of title contention for the time being. Grasso believes that Shevchenko’s cautious style has worked against her in their previous bouts. He expects Shevchenko to be more aggressive at UFC 306 and is looking forward to it.
“She has too much of a waiting style. She’s just retreating, retreating, retreating… If you want the belt back, I don’t think it’s good to do that. If you want the belt, you have to go for it… I would like to… I know exactly what I need to do to ensure the victory, but I hope she will attack and defend more, move forward and chase the belt.”
