Having been unseated from the flyweight throne at Noche UFC (UFC 306) this past weekend, Alexa Grasso is vowing to bounce back stronger.
Grasso met Valentina Shevchenko once again in Saturday night’s co-main event inside Las Vegas’ Sphere, hoping to get the better of the MMA legend for a second time and close out their trilogy on top.
That didn’t come to fruition, however, with “Bullet” instead leveling the score in their most one-sided fight thus far.
After falling to a surprise submission first time around and subsequently failing to regain the belt in a tight rematch that was ruled a draw, Shevchenko left no doubt about her superiority at UFC 306, using a smothering wrestling attack to pitch a shutout on the scorecards.
Given the difficulty many had predicting a winner in the lead-up, Grasso’s uncompetitive display came as a surprise. And reacting to the result herself, the Mexican has pledged better next time out.
Grasso Thanks Fans, Promises Improvements
A couple of days on from the end of her reign, which came at the UFC’s second annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day, Grasso made her first statement in relation to the result.
The now-former champ thanked her fans for their support and unsurprisingly admitted that things went far from how she had hoped.
That’s something she promised to rectify next time out when she attempts to work her way back toward the flyweight gold.
“I want to thank you for all your support 🤍 It wasn’t the night I wanted,” Grasso wrote in Spanish. “I’ll get back to training and I promise the next fight will be much better.”
While Grasso looks to rebound in her return down the line, Shevchenko will have her sights on cementing her second divisional rule and establishing the kind of dominance she was able to find first time around.
It would appear likely that the first step in that pursuit comes against Manon Fiorot in early 2025. The Frenchwoman has established herself as a top contender by winning all seven of her UFC fights to date, including over Rose Namajunas and Erin Blanchfield. She was also in Las Vegas last week to weigh in as the backup fighter for the UFC 306 co-main event.
