Valentina Shevchenko couldn’t help, but laugh after learning of Alexa Grasso’s advice to her.
Before defending her flyweight championship against ‘Bullet’ in the first-ever women’s trilogy bout in UFC history on September 14, Grasso offered a word of advice to her opponent, suggesting that if Shevchenko hopes to take back the 125-pound title, she’ll need to move forward and ramp up the aggression, rather than sitting back for 25 minutes.
"She has a style where she waits too much. … If you want to get your belt back, I don’t think that’s the way to do that."
Alexa Grasso challenges Valentina Shevchenko to bring the fight at #NocheUFC
(via @MikeBohn) pic.twitter.com/t9yVUGYiQo
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 4, 2024
“She has a style where she waits too much,” Grasso told MMA Junkie. “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.”
Learning of Grasso’s comments, Shevchenko was nothing short of amused.
“So she is planning to secure her victory, she is not planning to go forward? This is what she said?” Shevchenko said in her own interview with MMA Junkie while listening to the soundbyte from Grasso. “So she’s going to be on her side of the Octagon expecting me to be on my side? That’s hilarious. Oh my God.”
UFC 306 will the the third consecutive meeting between Grasso and Shevchenko. Their first clash came in March 2023 when Grasso stunned the MMA community with a fourth-round submission victory over ‘Bullet’ to bring the flyweight belt back home to Mexico.
Six months later, they would run it back at Noche UFC in Las Vegas. This time around, they would go the full five rounds, but little would be accomplished as the contest was controversially ruled a split draw after judge Mike Bell somehow saw fit to score the final round 10-8 in favor of Grasso.
“Looking on the second fight, our second fight, it was a draw,” Shevchenko said. “But it was the same exact strategy, with the same exact tactics, I secured the victory if it hadn’t been for the mistake and error of the judge (Mike Bell). He’s very, very weird action what he did. So everyone could feel that I won the fight. I did enough to win the fight. It was shocking for the people seeing that a judge can do those things. It was weird. Knowing that my strategy is working, I don’t have intentions to change anything.
“I’m just going to bring my spirit. I’m going to bring my power and my speed and I’m going to bring my experience to the fight. The No. 1 goal what I have to do in this fight is be myself. I don’t have to play someone’s game. This is not what makes you champion. Champion is who is playing their own game. I don’t care what everyone is saying. I’m going to win the fight. I know for sure.”
Valentina Shevchenko determined to keep the judges out of her UFC 306 co-main event
Though she knows it will be no easy task, Shevchenko has no intention of allowing their third fight to go to the judges, especially after leaving empty-handed last year.
“Every time I look forward, but every time it’s not possible to finish the fight, especially when you are fighting with a top-level opponent,” Shevchenko said. “You can finish the fight very easily when the level between you and your opponent have a gap, but when we are speaking about UFC and the top-level competition, sometimes it’s harder. But this was our primary goal during the training camp, to finish the fight.
“I feel great. I feel strong and my cardio is amazing. I’m just going to go there and give the people an amazing fight. This is the goal. I’m not worried about anything else. Just give this fight and make this fight the best fight of my life.”
