Valentina Shevchenko voiced her frustration over the seemingly questionable 10-8 scorecard in the fifth round of her title fight with Alexa Grasso at Noche UFC. Admittedly, “Bullet” couldn’t tell if she would be pushing for a trilogy match with the reigning women’s flyweight champ.
Mixed feelings
Speaking to reporters in her post-fight presser, Shevchenko laid out everything she thought was unfair during the fight. The former UFC flyweight champion pointed out that a 10-8 in the final round was very unjustifiable and apparently, Grasso also hit her with some “illegal shots.”
“It’s kind of like crossing feelings. From one side, I [am] proud of myself because I fought the battle till from the first second to the very end of the fight, I fought with all my heart, with all my soul and from the other side, it’s like frustration because. I think three rounds I won, two rounds maybe was her. But I feel the 10-8 in the fifth round, it’s completely unfair,” Shevchenko began.
“It was some illegal shots like knees in the first round. Unfortunately it was like nothing to do with it but I feel that it’s against my like, personal rules that stop and complain.”
Shevchenko also revealed that a “broken thumb” affected her striking. The injury reportedly made her thought about whether she would continue fighting or not.
Valentina Shevchenko told me that she badly fractured her thumb in the first round and had thoughts about whether or not she could continue fighting for the remainder of the bout.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 17, 2023
“I broke my thumb in the first round and it’s fractured now. I felt it was affecting my striking but at the same time, I felt if I would stop, it’s going to be very frustrating for the whole fans here this night because they were waiting for this fight, they want to see the fight and if I stop in the first round and say I cannot continue, I feel like it’s going to be against my own personal rules,” she continued.
“Unfortunately, I think this event because it’s Mexican Independence Day, that’s why it affected the decision of the judge to give 10-8 in the fifth round. From my experience, 10-8, it’s when one fighter completely cannot do nothing. It’s like running around, looking for an escape from the octagon. It’s like miserable.”
“But in the fifth round, it was like four minutes or however many minutes standing up and she didn’t land one punch. She could only take the back position in the last minute, minute and a half. I don’t remember now, but even there, it was not damage. It was not [enough] damage to succeed with this 10-8.”
A change in result would be nice
In the end, Shevchenko and Grasso ended up having a split draw. Shevchenko suggests that an overturn in the official decision could be an appropriate way of fixing the alleged controversial scoring.
“I hope it’s going to change, but I know many fighters go through the same frustration when it’s kind of like that way but you cannot do nothing. The official decision, it’s the official decision. It’s a draw. It’s not a loss, but in my case, it’s not a victory.”
Third fight is up in the air
For now, Shevchenko insists that she has yet to make a call for a trilogy match with Grasso as she is focused on getting back to her “100%” first.
“I don’t want to rush,” Shevchenko said of a possible third fight. “I don’t want to say something and tomorrow I will change my mind. First of all, I want to see how long it’s going [to take my thumb] to heal, because this is most important. My next fight, when it happens, I want to perform the best way what I can. I don’t want to perform at 50 percent. I want it 100 [percent]… That’s why right now, I don’t know what is going to be next, who is going to be next, but I’m here.”
Both Grasso and Shevchenko did not expect their rematch to end in a draw. Should Shevchenko opt to take a break, Grasso would not run short in options as Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot already present a strong case to become her next title challenger.
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