Beating Valentina Shevchenko isn’t something that just happens as a fluke. To prove that, Alexa Grasso is sharing video where she drilled the attack that won her a UFC title.
Jon Jones isn’t the only fighter at UFC 285 that trained extensively to take advantage of an opponent’s flaws to gain a championship belt.
The internet went wild when Henry Cejudo shared footage from the last day of Jones’ camp which showed “Triple C” explaining how to switch from back control to front cover against the cage. “Bones” used that exact transition to force Ciryl Gane to the canvas, where he was submitted 30 seconds later.
Now Alexa Grasso would like some credit for her impressive finish of longtime women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. Grasso took Shevchenko down in the fourth round off a poorly timed spinning kick, jumping on an insane neck crank that forced “Bullet” to tap (watch full video highlights here).
Alexa posted it on Instagram saying they practice this for fucking months, amazing to watch her doing it just before winning the belt pic.twitter.com/b5Dq6srHT2
— * (@andrpsl) March 6, 2023
“Warming up before going into the fight,” Grasso wrote in an Instagram Reel video. “The back shot after the spinning kick was trained for months.”
This may be in direct response to many fans calling Grasso’s win lucky or happenstance. We know MMA fans (especially salty UFC bettors whose parlays didn’t pay off) can be real jerks. In this case, even Valentina Shevchenko is downplaying Alexa Grasso’s win, waving off the submission loss as a momentary loss of focus.
“Fight doesn’t forgive any mistake!” Shevchenko wrote. “Especially it feels frustrating when you was dominating all the fight.”
Alexa’s head coach / uncle Francisco Grasso also commented on the finish in his own Instagram post.
“For all those who say that it was a mistake, that it was luck or circumstantial, here I leave the warm-up before going out to fight!” he wrote. “With the same entry – dodging the kick, moving the torso slightly to the right, taking a circular step, and taking from the waist to go for the back take. That’s a straight spin kick counter-attack! Not a mistake! It has been practiced hundreds of times with many variations!”
“I have never labeled myself the best!” he added. “But it is about time that the hard technical work that goes into Lobo MMA gym is recognized! And the incredible TECHNICAL execution (the most difficult) by Alexa! Against such a dominant champion! That’s why she has the well-deserved UFC belt! That belt is in the right place.”
“We will continue working and showing how well we do things in Mexico! Because we are going for another with Irene Aldana, and preparing [for the] pack of hungry wolves to come after!”
What do you think of Alexa Grasso’s big win over Valentina Shevchenko to win the UFC women’s flyweight title? Can Grasso hold onto the belt in a rematch? Let us know in the comments, Maniacs.