Alexa Grasso took a dig at Valentina Shevchenko’s status as a 17-time Muay Thai world champion.
Both women appeared as part of an athlete panel ahead of their highly anticipated scrap on Saturday night at Noche UFC. Grasso and Shevchenko will headline the evening’s festivities, running back their UFC 285 clash that saw Grasso score a massive upset via a fourth-round rear-naked choke submission.
Speaking about her strategy going into the sequel bout, Alexa Grasso revealed that her goal would be to keep the fight standing and strike despite her last victory coming on the canvas.
“I love striking fights. I do everything I can to keep the fight on the feet and I was doing pretty well,” Grasso said. “The first round was amazing. I was doing pretty well so I’m going to bring everything an amazing fight this Saturday night.”
"Being a muay Thai champion, I thought you wanted to be on the striking with me, but you decided to go to the ground."
Alexa Grasso hit Valentina Shevchenko with a diss and some mind games during this exchange.
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Shevchenko Reminds Everyone of Her Accomplishments in Combat Sports
Valentina Shevchenko was quick to snap back at Grasso’s comments, reminding the world that she is a multi-time Muay Thai champion in addition to her plethora of accomplishments inside the Octagon.
“I want to remind everyone [that I’m] a 17-time world Muay Thai champion,” Shevchenko said. “Seven title defenses and you cannot get rid of this. It’s going to stay in you forever. You can be better. You can make an adjustment or whatever you want to do, but the power, the confidence, and the experience is still here and it’s gonna explode on Saturday.”
Alexa Grasso took the opportunity to throw some shade at Shevchenko, questioning why the 17-time Muay Thai champion chose to grapple with her instead of putting her striking skills on display in their March meeting.
“Being a Muay Thai champion, I thought you wanted to strike with me, but you decided to ground to the ground,” Grasso added. “Fourth round, I made a lot of adjustments.