Valentina Shevchenko felt she was treated unfairly at the inaugural Norte UFC event and was leaving nothing to chance on Saturday night.
Shevchenko used takedowns and positional control to overpower Alexa Grasso and win her third consecutive bout by unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 306 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Already widely regarded as the best women’s flyweight in UFC history, Shevchenko said she feels better than ever to have reclaimed the belt she lost more than a year ago.
“It was my third fight with Alexa and I don’t know what it is, but I feel so different, so powerful, so strong. Even better than I did a few years ago,” Shevchenko said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I felt this strength going through my veins and everything. I think that’s a good thing for a fighter. If you’re not evolving, you’re like, ‘OK, it’s time to retire.’ But if you feel strong and powerful and you continue to do what you’re doing now and it’s difficult and you love it, then that’s what matters. Taking a break… it doesn’t matter.”
Shevchenko had won nine straight bouts before Grasso earned a shocking submission victory over her to claim the flyweight title in their first bout at UFC 285 in March 2023. Their rematch at UFC Fight Night 227 ended in a controversial split draw, an outcome that Shevchenko continues to dispute to this day. Ultimately, all of the above gave “Brett” the motivation she needed to reclaim the 125-pound belt.
“This whole story is about what this belt means to me. [of] “I lost the belt in the first fight because of some mistakes I made,” Shevchenko said, “Then I fought the second fight, won a fight and drew a fight. And then this third fight, these last five months of training camp have been very intense, not only physically but also mentally. Every time I was thinking about how to get better. … In this particular fight, I felt this monster energy inside me, I unleashed it and gave it my all in this fight.”
With the win over Grasso, Shevchenko felt she had restored order in the flyweight division.
“I’m very happy about everything, definitely. I’m very happy to have what’s mine back,” she said. “It’s been a year without the belt. It’s been very strange. Really right now it’s hard to express all the emotions that are going through me, with the adrenaline after the fight and everything… but right now, in a word, I’m happy that everything is going well.”
