UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso has been booked to face Valentina Shevchenko in her first title defense.
Former UFC women’s 125-pound titleholder Shevchenko led a dominant reign at the top. She started out in the promotion’s bantamweight division before moving down a weight class. In 2018, she became the women’s flyweight champion after defeating legendary fighter Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 in Dec. 2018.
She proved to be a commanding champion who looked near unbeatable as she kept warding off the budding talent and added a total of seven consecutive title defenses, with wins over the likes of Liz Carmouche, Julianna Pena, and Holly Holm.
UFC books Alexa Grasso-Valentina Shevchenko title rematch in September
Alexa Grasso is scheduled to take on Valentina Shevchenko in an immediate title rematch on Sep. 16, timed for Mexican Independence Day as first reported by The Schmo. The matchup is expected to serve as the main event of a card set to be hosted at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s unclear if the event will be a pay-per-view or a UFC Fight Night.
Usually, UFC hosts the Fight Night cards in their own facility called the UFC Apex but the event is set up for the T-Mobile Arena. On the other hand, UFC’s current PPV schedule does not leave space for another PPV on Sep. 16 as UFC 293 goes down a week prior and UFC 294, the next PPV, will take place on Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
“Per sources, Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko Bout Agreements in the works for September 16th as MAIN EVENT Independence Day,” wrote The Schmo. “Likely location T Mobile Arena with NSAC approving location. Fight Night or PPV TBD..”
Per sources, Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko Bout Agreements in the works for September 16th as MAIN EVENT 🇲🇽 Independence Day. Likely location T Mobile Arena with NSAC approving location. Fight Night or PPV TBD.. #FightNews #UFC
— The Schmo (@TheSchmo312) June 22, 2023
Shevchenko will look to reclaim the title
Shevchenko’s aura of invincibility was initially tested by Taila Santos in Jun. 2022 and finally got broken by Alexa Grasso in her last outing at UFC 285 three months ago. Grasso entered the bout as a huge underdog. She appeared to find her stride early, presenting a new challenge, and getting the better of the striking maestro on the feet. ‘Bullet’ utilized her grappling skills to get a lead on the judges’ scorecards but could not retain it till the distance.
Eventually, Grasso managed to pull off a massive upset by finishing Shevchenko with a face crank in the fourth round to become the first Mexican-born women’s champ in UFC history. She snapped Shevchenko’s impressive nine-fight winning run and handed her her first loss since 2017.
For Alexa Grasso, it will be her chance to defend the title and prove her first win over ‘Bullet’ was not a stroke of luck whereas Shevchenko will look to reclaim the title she once held.
