The two female fighters, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko had been loggerheads for over three years. Their first meeting took place at UFC 285. Grasso submitted Shevchenko in the fourth round and captured the flyweight title. Shevchenko got another chance to capture the belt, but the bout ended in a split draw win for Grasso.
After three years of collision, it seems the fighters will get a chance at another face-off at Noche UFC. In a recent interview, Grasso spoke about how things have been with her rival.
“We’ve been so many times together,” Grasso told MMA Junkie on Monday in an interview facilitated by Stake.com. “All through the show. We had a lot of faceoffs. Again and again and again. I don’t know. It’s really, really weird. I can tell it’s really weird. But at the end of the day, on fight week, and the day of the fight, things change.
“We are going to try to kill each other, and that’s the most important thing. It’s really cool to be able to meet with her more. We were able to do a lot of stuff together.”
“She has done so much and is a really big inspiration to be in this stage and doing these things making history,” Grasso said. “We are doing something really cool. The first women’s trilogy. The first fight was amazing. The second fight was so, so amazing. You can expect the third fight is going to be a hell of a fight.”
Although both opponents are quite competitive, Grasso can hold Shevchenko in high regard about their fight. The fight is being regarded as something unprecedented, but fans are eager to see the two battle it out again. Their bout will be the co-main event on the Sept. 14 card and will take place at the Riyadh Season Noche UFC at Sphere in Las Vegas. It will be the first UFC title fight to ever take place at Sphere. Moreover, it will mark the first women’s trilogy bout in UFC history.
Grasso has acknowledged Shevchenko as a formidable opponent and is eager to face her in the octagon.
“She has a style where she waits too much,” Grasso said. “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. And 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. I know exactly what I need to do to secure my win. I hope that she can do more exchanges and go forward and chase that belt.”
