- Daniel Cormier advises Alexa Grasso to work on her takedown defense
- Grasso is down for an instant rematch with Valentina Shevchenko
Alexa Grasso dethroned longtime UFC flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko with flying colors at UFC 285. Many were shocked and pleased by Grasso’s performance but for Daniel Cormier, there was one aspect of her game that needs some significant improvement.
DC wants Alexa to add support to her walls
Sharing his reactions right after UFC 285 inside the T-Mobile arena, Cormier broke down Grasso and Shevchenko’s performance. According to DC, “Bullet” miscalculated Grasso’s abilities and it began to show right off the bat. As for Grasso, the former two-division champ remarked that she has to strengthen her takedown defense if she wants to be a longtime champion as well.
“Valentina didn’t pick Taila Santos for intermediate rematch because she knew what Taila Santos presented but figured she would get through Alexa Grasso easy. Very early, that was proven not to be true. Alexa landed some great strikes on the feet, then caused Valentina to start wrestling her,” Cormier began.
“[Grasso] She struggled in the take down defense and if she’s going to extend this title reign, she will have to shore that up. She was taken down multiple times but continued to fight every time she got to her feet. She did a great job of landing on Shevchenko to the point that Valencia started to make mistakes,” he continued.
No problem with part II
If Cormier is right about his analysis, then Grasso should really watch the tape and pay attention to her takedown defense. Especially, with Shevchenko calling for an immediate rematch which Grasso gladly welcomed.
Grasso’s upset win over Shevchenko will surely open the doors for both new and former title challengers. But on the other hand, the fact that “Bullet” successfully defended the flyweight title seven times in a row makes her worthy of a quick rematch.
Grasso will reign as the new women’s flyweight champion with a 16-3 record. The finish over Shevchenko was only the second submission victory of her career but she vows to win more fights in that fashion in the future.
