Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso squared off this past Saturday in a women’s flyweight title rematch. It was an extremely competitive clash, with the fight ending in a draw. There were many different opinions on who won the battle, as the judges couldn’t even decide because the contest ended as a split draw. After the fight, there was a lot of backlash about the decision. Shevchenko was distraught with the decision and wasn’t shy about voicing her opinions.
Valentina Shevchenko On The Fight
As previously stated, it was a competitive fight with very little between the two competitors. Both fighters seemed to come out of the gate more aggressive than their first encounter. It was clear that Grasso had the advantage in terms of power. The evidence for this is that she knocked down Shevchenko in the contest’s second round. However, Shevchenko showed that she was the better wrestler throughout the fight. The two fighters performed exceptionally well and got their hand raised. Speaking to The MMA Hour, Shevchenko talked about her performance in the contest.
“Emotions. As I said on Saturday, it’s double. For one part, I’m very proud of what I did inside of the octagon. I know exactly three rounds, for certain, from the fight were my rounds. I won those rounds. On the other side, a few things were completely unfair. The scorecard in the final round is 10-8. Mike Bell did some inexplicable things, and I think the world would love to hear an explanation. But on the other side, it’s not me. He is going to live with that mistake forever.”
Valentina Shevchenko On The Decision
The major controversy coming out of the bout was Mike Bell scoring the fifth round as a 10-8. The scoring ultimately affected the outcome of the battle. It was so controversial that not many people saw the fifth round like Bell did, including Shevchenko.
“There is nothing clear in that, the reason it was a 10-8,” Shevchenko said. “No one is speaking about it, and my guess is because there is no explanation. It’s kind of like he had me on his scorecard winning three rounds, and it looks like, in the final round, he was like, ‘Oh my God, I cannot let this happen! I’ll switch my mind and give it a 10-8.
In our sport, 10-8 is when a fighter cannot do anything. He goes in the round, running from the opponent and trying to survive. This is 10-8. But in the fifth round, it’s not even close to a 10-8. In the standup, all the hits I was hitting were hard, and I felt that a few landed very hard on her, and she was shaken up. I felt it. It’s completely not a 10-8. Control doesn’t mean 10-8. Control is nothing. Damage there wasn’t any damage in the final round.”
All quotes via Fanside MMA
What’s Next
Looking at what is next, denying Shevchenko a third shot at the belt is hard. This is because you could strongly argue that she won the contest. However, many fighters deserve a shot at the belt if the UFC wants to go in a different direction with the title. For example, Manon Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield have been on impressive runs lately.
Shevchenko is a legend of the sport, and she proved that on Saturday night.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
