This past Saturday night in the co-main event of Noche UFC, the women’s flyweight title was on the line in a trilogy bout. Alexa Grasso (16-4-1) was looking to defend her title against the former longtime champion Valentina Shevchenko (24-4-1).
These two first fought back in March of 2023. In the fourth round of their fight, Shevchenko threw a terrible spinning back kick that allowed Grasso to take her back and ultimately secure a submission. Shevchenko was up 2-1 on all three scorecards when that fourth round started.
In their second fight at last year’s Noche UFC event, Shevchenko won three rounds on two of the three scorecards. However, a horrendous fifth round 10-8 on one card in favor of Alexa Grasso made the fight a draw instead of a split decision win for Shevchenko. At UFC 306, both women were looking to prove once and for all that they were better.
I was expecting a very competitive fight on Saturday night, but it was anything but. From the opening bell, this fight was dominated by Valentina Shevchenko. She won the striking and she dominated with her grappling. She took down Alexa Grasso almost at will and Grasso’s only moments of success were with submission attempts off her back.
Only one got somewhat close. After five rounds, it was clear that Valentina Shevchenko was still the best in the world as she regained her UFC flyweight title.
What’s next after UFC 306?
With this performance, Shevchenko left no doubt that she’s the better of the two. That’s not to discredit Alexa Grasso at all. Had Shevchenko been a little more clean with her technique in the first fight or just stuck to her wrestling, she likely wins that first fight. I fully believe she won the second fight and the third fight wasn’t even close.
These two have fought 13.5 rounds and Shevchenko has won ten of those rounds. Grasso had big moments including the submission win in the first fight and dropping Shevchenko in the second fight, but when you look at the overall picture, Valentina Shevchenko is the better fighter and she proved that at Noche UFC.
For Shevchenko, her next fight is clear and it won’t be a fourth fight with Grasso. Her next opponent will be top contender Manon Fiorot. Fiorot is unbeaten inside the octagon and she’s coming off a big win over Erin Blanchfield in a title eliminator. Fiorot weighed in as the backup fighter for this weekend’s title fight and I’d expect their title fight to happen early next year.