Daniel Cormier has called on Valentina Shevchenko to reconsider her ambitions for an immediate rematch with Alexa Grasso.
This past Saturday, former UFC women’s flyweight champion Shevchenko took on Grasso in the co-main event of UFC 285 in Las Vegas, Nevada. She went into the bout as a heavy-betting favorite with eight title defenses under her belt. Grasso displayed superior striking abilities on the feet and appeared to be in control of the action except for the early grappling exchanges. She capitalized on Shevchenko’s miscalculation by locking in a strong face crank submission and got the victory in round four.
Considering how dominant Shevchenko had been at the top, an immediate rematch seemed likely.
Daniel Cormier wants Valentina Shevchenko to delay her rematch with Alexa Grasso
In a recent video uploaded on YouTube, Daniel Cormier shared his thoughts on ‘Bullet’s demands to run it right back with Alexa Grasso after losing the title. Cormier believes it might be too early for Shevchenko to make enough improvements and encouraged her to reassess the situation.
“I kinda gotta wonder, what does she have to change?” said Cormier. “Because here’s the deal, she made a mistake and she was very open about it. But I don’t think it was that simple. I really don’t think it was that simple partly because Alexa Grasso was winning the stand-up. We had so long thought of Valentina as an unstoppable force on the feet but because of Alexa having such success in the standup, she hurt her early in round one.
“She almost forced Valentina to wrestle. She almost made her pivot to a different gameplan to stay with her and compete. That’s how good Alexa Grasso was on the night. She was so prepared that she made one of the best strikers we’ve seen, across all divisions, all genders in the UFC, turn into a wrestler.”
Cormier thinks Grasso will be a tough matchup for Shevchenko ahead
‘DC’ believes Shevchenko’s mistake was not the only reason why she lost the fight. He heaped praises on Grasso and her camp for their preparations and suggested ‘Bullet’ wait before jumping back in.
“Valentina had to wrestle Alexa Grasso because Alexa’s hands and her confidence on the feet was presenting problems for her. She did make a mistake but is it a mistake if it’s something Alexa and her team saw in the planning of it?”
“Valentina does want a rematch and she is entitled to that but the question does become, is Valentina really want it or maybe she should re-assess and revisit this matchup later because I think every time they matchup it’s a very tough fight for the former champ.”
Alexa Grasso created history by becoming the first Mexican-born woman to hold a UFC title. Following her crowning moment, a mural was made in her honor in her native land. She expressed her willingness to compete with Shevchenko again in a rematch but no concrete details have been announced yet.
