Valentina Shevchenko has shared her thoughts on the fairness of facing Alexa Grasso at UFC 306, shedding light on her perspective regarding their upcoming showdown.
Over the past year, Shevchenko and Grasso have cultivated quite the rivalry. Their clash at UFC 285 saw Grasso stun the world by submitting Shevchenko, clinching the UFC women’s flyweight championship. Their subsequent bout, six months later, ended in a draw as part of the UFC’s Mexican Independence Day festivities.
Their rivalry is set to escalate further as they’re slated to coach opposing teams on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, culminating in their highly anticipated trilogy fight.
However, Shevchenko has reservations about facing Grasso on Mexican Independence Day, despite suggestions for such a matchup at UFC 306.
Valentina Shevchenko Weighs in on Alexa Grasso Bout
“I think [it would be] more fair if one for her, one for me,” Shevchenko expressed during the TUF 32 media day. “We fought on Mexican Independence Day before. Now we have to find something with Kyrgyzstan.”
“Even now, I was briefly looking through the [TUF] fighters,” she continued. “We have a Mexican fighter, but we don’t have a Kyrgyzstan fighter. So, it has to be one for her, one for me so that this is a fair game (laughs).”
Shevchenko also highlighted the timing of the bout, considering her recent hand surgery. She pointed out, “Timewise, I think it’s good because I’m just recently coming from the hand surgery. I still have the scar on my thumb. So, timewise, I think it’s good. I will not have to force myself in terms of preparation because if you force yourself and just rush in, it’s gonna happen that you [get] injured again and it’s gonna delay everything for even more time.”
While Shevchenko acknowledges the significance of their impending clash, she emphasizes the importance of fairness in scheduling and the necessity of considering her recovery process to ensure optimal performance come fight night.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
