“We are going to try to kill each other” – Alexa Grasso Ready for Valentina Shevchenko Trilogy
Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko have a complicated relationship.
After fighting twice in 2023, the current and former flyweight world champion will co-headline UFC 306 on September 14 inside Sphere in Las Vegas. In the months leading up to their anticipated trilogy bout, Grasso and ‘Bullet’ served as opposing coaches on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter.
While things have remained respectful between the two combatants, Grasso would be lying if she said there was no animosity bubbling up between the two 125’ers. During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, the Guadalajara native couldn’t quite explain the status of her relationship with Shevchenko, though she knows that it’s unlike any other she’s experienced in her mixed martial arts career.
“We’ve been so many times together,” Grasso said. “All through the show. We had a lot of faceoffs. Again and again and again. I don’t know. It’s really, really weird. I can tell it’s really weird. But at the end of the day, on fight week, and the day of the fight, things change. We are going to try to kill each other and that’s the most important thing. It’s really cool to be able to meet with her more. We were able to do a lot of stuff together.”
When Grasso and ‘Bullet’ take center stage at Sphere, they will make history as their clash will be the first-ever UFC title tilt inside the unique venue. It will also mark the first women’s trilogy bout in UFC history and there’s nobody Grasso would rather share the moment with than Shevchenko.
“She has done so much and is a really big inspiration to be in this stage and doing these things making history,” Grasso said. “We are doing something really cool. The first women’s trilogy. The first fight was amazing. The second fight was so, so amazing. You can expect the third fight is going to be a hell of a fight.”
Alexa Grasso Hopes Valentina Shevchenko brings to fight to her at Noche UFC
Their first meeting at UFC 285 saw Grasso pull off a stunning upset, submitting Shevchenko in the fourth round via a rear-naked choke.
Their immediate rematch in September 2023 ended in a very rare and incredibly controversial split draw. The consensus appeared to believe that ‘Bullet’ did enough to take back her belt, but a questionable 10-8 scorecard from Mike Bell in favor of Grasso in the fifth round left us without a winner.
Grasso subscribes to the belief that if you want to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man, and Shevchenko’s typical style of moving backward and counterstriking isn’t going to get it done.
“She has a style where she waits too much,” Grasso said. “She’s just going back and back and back. I don’t think that’s a good (idea). If you want to get your belt back, I don’t think that’s the way to do that. If you want the belt you have to go for it. I would love that. I love to exchange. I love battles.
“But she has a fighting style where she’s going back, back, back – I’m not sure that’s going to work. I know exactly what I need to do to secure my win. I hope that she can do more exchanges and go forward and chase that belt.”
