The greatest female fighter in the world returns in March at UFC 285 to defend her title. ESPN Deportes was the first to report today that Valentina Shevchenko (23-3) will return on March 4th when she meets surging top contender Alexa Grasso (15-3) for the flyweight championship.
Alexa Grasso entered the UFC as a strawweight and struggled a little early on in her career. However, after a loss to Carla Esparza, she decided it was time to move up to the flyweight division. She’s been a completely different fighter since making this switch.
She’s gone a perfect 4-0 and continues to look better and better each time she fights. Her last fight came in a Fight Night main event against Viviane Araujo. Grasso won that fight by decision and that win turns out to be the key win leading to her shot at UFC 285.
UFC 285
Valentina Shevchenko is 9-0 since moving down to the flyweight division. She has seven successful title defenses and has largely looked unbeatable since becoming the queen of the flyweights. However, she looked incredibly human in her last fight against Taila Santos.
Santos was able to have success getting the fight to the ground and controlling Shevchenko. She also held her own in striking exchanges. Santos suffered a broken orbital due to an accidental headbutt and that seemed to shift momentum back to Shevchenko who was able to win by split decision.
Regardless, it was another successful title defense for the pound-for-pound queen. She enters UFC 285 with a bit of a chip on her shoulder with something to prove. Expect the champ to try to make a statement while Alexa Grasso looks to pull off the massive upset.