Tag: Valentina Shevchenko

Alexa Grasso retains title, fights Valentina Shevchenko to split decision draw in instant classic – Noche UFC Highlights

Alexa Grasso retains flyweight title in split draw against Valentina Shevchenko Noche UFC highlightsRetaining her undisputed flyweight championship and receiving massive plaudits for doing so, undisputed division champion, Alexa Grasso manages to remain weight class gold holder come the conclusion of Noche UFC tonight, fighting ex-champion Valentina Shevchenko to a split draw decision in Las Vegas, Nevada. Grasso, who managed to clinch the undisputed flyweight crown from Shevchenko […]

Alexa Grasso retains flyweight title in split draw against Valentina Shevchenko Noche UFC highlights

Retaining her undisputed flyweight championship and receiving massive plaudits for doing so, undisputed division champion, Alexa Grasso manages to remain weight class gold holder come the conclusion of Noche UFC tonight, fighting ex-champion Valentina Shevchenko to a split draw decision in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Grasso, who managed to clinch the undisputed flyweight crown from Shevchenko in a massive upset win back in March, handed the veteran her first defeat at the weight class in a rallying third round neck crank submission win.

And tonight, once more leaving ‘Sin City’ with a championship in tow, Guadalajara managed to retain her title on Mexican Independence Day no less, courtesy of a split decision draw at the T-Mobile Arena.

Causing concern for Shevchenko more than once, who again elected to utilize her grappling ability, Grasso would drop the Kyrgyzstan native with a big right hand straight in the second, sending the latter reeling and tumbling backwards.

Below, catch the highlights from Alexa Grasso’s rematch with Valentina Shevchenko at Noche UFC

Alexa Grasso snaps back at Valentina Shevchenko during Noche UFC athlete panel

ShevchenkoAlexa 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 […]

Shevchenko

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.”

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.

Noche UFC: Grasso vs. Shevchenko – Betting Odds, Start Time, PPV Price & Full Fight Card

Noche UFC Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 Betting Odds, Start Time, PPV, LineupAttempting to successfully defend her newly-minted flyweight championship this weekend atop of a Noche UFC event in ‘Sin City’, Mexican fan-favorite, Alexa Grasso faces another massive prospect in the form of her rematch with ex-champion, Valentina Shevchenko, closing fastly as a betting underdog to retain her crown on Mexican Independence Day.  Grasso, who has since […]

Noche UFC Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 Betting Odds, Start Time, PPV, Lineup

Attempting to successfully defend her newly-minted flyweight championship this weekend atop of a Noche UFC event in ‘Sin City’, Mexican fan-favorite, Alexa Grasso faces another massive prospect in the form of her rematch with ex-champion, Valentina Shevchenko, closing fastly as a betting underdog to retain her crown on Mexican Independence Day. 

Grasso, who has since managed to clinch the status as the number one pound-for-pound female fighter under the banner of the UFC, managed to turn in a shocking upset title win in a year of earth-shattering underdog victories just earlier this year back in March.

Co-headlining UFC 285, Grasso, who challenged for gold for the first time in her organizational tenure, managed to rally to end Shevchenko’s title reign in spectacular fashion, submitting the flyweight champion with a third round neck crank submission win. 

Start Time

The start time for Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko 2, Noche UFC at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas has the prelims beginning at 7pm ET and the main card commencing at 10 pm ET. Noche UFC event marks the celebration of Mexican Independence Day.

Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 Betting Odds at Noche UFC

However, despite her rallying effort to submit the dominant Kyrgyzstan native and end her perfect run at the flyweight limit, Grasso is closing significantly as a +140 betting underdog with Betway to repeat that feat this weekend and defeat Shevchenko, this time as defending champion. 

Seeing her nine-fight successful title defense run halted by Lobo Gym staple, Grasso back in March, Betway have still placed striking sensation, Shevchenko as a -175 betting favorite to beat Grasso, avenge her sole flyweight loss and reclaim the divisional title this weekend atop Noche UFC.

As far as finishes are concerned between the two, Shevchenko, who has displayed both her striking and grappling chops to much acclaim during her run with the UFC, is available currently as a -350 to defeat Grasso via KO, TKO, or by disqualification this weekend – while the champion is sat at +1,2000 to win via strikes or disqualification.

While Shevchenko sits as a -350 betting favorite to win via strikes, Grasso has landed odds of -350 to herself land a second career win over Shevchenko by way of submission this weekend in her first attempt title defense. 

Another exciting fight which features on the main card of Noche UFC this weekend comes in the form of a co-headlining clash at welterweight between the streaking promotional-perfect contender, Jack Della Maddalena, and fan-favorite striker, Kevin Holland.

Exploding on the UFC scene since his arrival from Dana White’s Contender Series, Australian challenger, Della Maddalena is closing as a close -160 betting favorite to defeat the +120 betting underdog, Holland in their pivotal welterweight clash, despite his close split decision win over Bassil Hafez back in July on short-notice.

Exciting bantamweight prospect, Raul Rosas Jr. also makes his comeback to the Octagon on the main card of Noche UFC this weekend, attending to avenge his first professional mixed martial arts loss as he takes on Terrence Mitchell. 

Suffering a decision loss to Christian Rodriguez back in April at UFC 287, the dynamic striking and grappling prospect has taken some time off from active competition ahead of his return – and is closing currently as a whopping -800 betting favorite to beat the +500 betting underdog, Mitchell, as the latter makes his first-ever Octagon appearance. 

Tickets

Tickets for Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA are available here.

PPV Price

Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko 2, UFC Noche, is available to all subscribers of ESPN+. You can get access to ESPN+ here.

Grasso vs. Shevchenko Full Fight Card

Main card (ESPN+)

  • Alexa Grasso (c) vs. Valentina Shevchenko
  • Kevin Holland vs. Jack Della Maddalena
  • Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Terrence Mitchell
  • Daniel Zellhuber vs. Christos Giagos
  • Fernando Padilla vs. Kyle Nelson

Preliminary Card (ESPN+)

  • Lupita Godinez vs. Elise Reed
  • Roman Kopylov vs. Josh Fremd
  • Edgar Cháirez vs. Daniel Lacerda
  • Tracy Cortez vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Alex Reyes vs. Charlie Campbell
  • Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Marnic Mann

Can Alexa Grasso upset the odds and beat Valentina Shevchenko for the second time?

Valentina Shevchenko holding out hope that Amanda Nunes will return for UFC trilogy fight

ShevchenkoValentina Shevchenko believes there is still the chance that she will once again share the Octagon with recently retired two-division titleholder Amanda Nunes. On September 16, ‘Bullet’ will return six months removed from her shocking flyweight title loss to Alexa Grasso at UFC 285. Shevchenko will attempt to reclaim the 125-pound crown as the two […]

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Valentina Shevchenko believes there is still the chance that she will once again share the Octagon with recently retired two-division titleholder Amanda Nunes.

On September 16, ‘Bullet’ will return six months removed from her shocking flyweight title loss to Alexa Grasso at UFC 285. Shevchenko will attempt to reclaim the 125-pound crown as the two women collide in the Noche UFC headliner inside the familiar confines of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Speaking with members of the media during Wednesday’s pre-fight press event, Shevchenko briefly spoke about the sudden retirement of her two-time opponent Amanda Nunes who walked away from the sport following a bantamweight title defense against Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June.

“First of all, Amanda is an amazing fighter,” Shevchenko said. “She did amazing things in this sport and I feel that many people, they’re kind of starting to judge [her] a little bit, but I want to say no one has the right to judge a fighter who did that much.”

Valentina Shevchenko Think We Could See Amanda Nunes Back in the Octagon One Day

Valentina Shevchenko and Amanda Nunes have shared the Octagon together on two separate occasions, the first coming at UFC 196 in 2016. ‘The Lioness’ secured a unanimous decision victory over ‘Bullet’, but the pair would run it back 18 months later at UFC 215. ‘Bullet’ would once again come up short, but it wouldn’t come without a bit of controversy as Nunes narrowly escaped with the win via a split decision.

With Nunes now retired from the sport, it appeared that all hope was lost in seeing the two complete their trilogy, but Shevchenko doesn’t see it that way. In an exclusive interview with LowKick MMA, ‘Bullet’ previously suggested that Nunes’ retirement wouldn’t stick. She added to that on Wednesday, suggesting that we could see ‘The Lioness’ return after she’s had time to heal and focus on her family.

“Our second fight, I think she didn’t win,” Shevchenko added. “I think I won that fight. Many people think the same and what I can say right now, if in the future she feels like she’s rested, she’s refocused, and feels she wants to come back, I plan to be around so we will still maybe have this opportunity.”

Do you think we will ever see Amanda Nunes return to complete her trilogy with Valentina Shevchenko?

Exclusive – Valentina Shevchenko believes we haven’t seen the last of Amanda Nunes in the UFC

ShevchenkoValentina Shevchenko isn’t so sure that Amanda Nunes‘ retirement will stick. On September 16, ‘Bullet’ will make her highly anticipated return to the Octagon as she attempts to reclaim the flyweight title she surrendered to Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 in March. Ahead of the rematch at Noche UFC, Shevchenko spoke with James Lynch in […]

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Valentina Shevchenko isn’t so sure that Amanda Nunes‘ retirement will stick.

On September 16, ‘Bullet’ will make her highly anticipated return to the Octagon as she attempts to reclaim the flyweight title she surrendered to Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 in March. Ahead of the rematch at Noche UFC, Shevchenko spoke with James Lynch in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview about her impending title tilt and the status of the stacked flyweight division.

During their conversation, ‘Bullet’ was asked for her thoughts on the retirement of two-division women’s world champion, Amanda Nunes. Shevchenko and ‘The Lioness’ are no strangers to one another, having fought on two separate occasions with the first coming at UFC 196 in 2016. Nunes scored a unanimous decision victory over Shevchenko in their inaugural meeting, with the pair running it back a year and a half later at UFC 215. On that night, ‘Bullet’ found herself on the wrong side of a split decision, but the loss didn’t come without a hint of controversy as many fans believe Shevchenko did enough to even the series at 1-1.

“I would like to have this trilogy fight, but I can’t say I’m disappointed,” Shevchenko said of Nunes’ retirement. “Amanda, she made her decision and she had a great career. I think the second fight… The result was not how it was. I think I won that fight.”

Speaking about Nunes’ surprising decision to hang up her four-ounce gloves, Valentina Shevchenko is not entirely convinced that we’ve seen the last of ‘The Lioness’ inside the Octagon.

“She did so many huge things in the fight, in her career. It’s very hard to judge why she [retired], but on the other side, I feel like many people confuse the term retirement and instead of using the term retirement, they could use the term a little layoff,” Shevchenko said. “A little rest. Maybe a year. Maybe two, but not retirement because I feel she is young enough to continue the fight journey. Maybe after a year or two, she’ll change her mind and decide to have another fight or two.”

She continued, “Every time there is a possibility. Something can be different. For example, Henry [Cejudo] decided to retire. After two or three years, he had his family, his babies, and he came back. That’s why I’m saying not to use the term retirement because retirement is something fundamental. It’s forever. Use [the term] take a break and go and rest, then see what is going to be.”

Shevchenko Believes the Pressure of Being a World Champion Could Have Weighed on Amanda Nunes

Nunes walked away from the sport after successfully defending the 135-pound title against Irene Aldana at UFC 289. She relinquished both the bantamweight and featherweight titles, having defended them a combined eight times and facing some of the biggest names in women’s MMA history, including Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, and of course, Valentina Shevchenko.

“When you have to defend your belt. When you have to prepare in training camp, it’s like constant physical and mental pressure, and definitely, you cannot live this life forever in this pressure,” Shevchenko added. “Sometimes you have to take time to rest and their your mind is recovered up, you say, ‘Why not? Why not give it another shot?’”

Do you think we will see Amanda Nunes return to the Octagon someday?