Alexa Grasso is the new UFC flyweight champion. The Mexican MMA fighter faced the dominant champion, Valentina Shevchenko.
The two fighters faced in the main event at UFC 285, which took place in Las Vegas. The battle was quite interesting and hardly anyone expected such a turn of events.
In the first round, Valentina Shevchenko was attacking, but Alexa Grasso scored right hooks that hurt her. Overall, the round was even, with the Mexican MMA fighter taking Valentina down at the end, but she got back to her feet and in turn took Alexa Grasso down.
In the second round, Valentina Shevchenko took the fight on the ground. Alexa Grasso stood up midway through the round. Valentina Shevchenko wasn’t very active while her opponent tried shots but couldn’t find the target. A heavy exchange of blows, after which Valentina Shevchenko took her down again.
In the third round, Valentina Shevchenko was able to take Alexa Grasso to the ground, but she wasn’t doing anything. The Mexican MMA fighter was getting punches from a prone position, and the referee decided to stand them up because there wasn’t much activity.
It seemed that Valentina Shevchenko did not want a stand-up fight. The took her opponent down again, and at the end of the round, Alexa Grasso applied a guillotine to her, but time ran out. The Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian MMA fighter recorded over 5 minutes of control in the first 15 minutes of the fight.
In the fourth round, Alexa Grasso stopped Valentina Shevchenko’s takedown attempts. The Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian MMA fighter had no idea in the game and it was Alexa Grasso who wanted the win more. At the end of the round, Valentina Shevchenko tried a spinning kick, but Alexa Grasso took advantage of it and was able to take her back.
Alexa Grasso applied a submission hold and had her submit in the final seconds of the 4th round. With this victory, she recorded her 5th consecutive victory and became the first woman from Mexico to become a champion in the UFC. She stops Valentina Shevchenko’s streak of 9 consecutive victories.
Valentina Shevchenko lost for the first time by finishing in MMA and parted with 7 consecutive defenses of the gold. She said she would want an immediate rematch.
