Noche UFC: T-Mobile Arena; Las Vegas, Nevada
Yes, Valentina Shevchenko cleaned up somethings after dropping the flyweight strap to Alexa Grasso. She was focused, head hunted, and didn’t rely on a spinning attack. Grasso, if sees a slither of daylight, has proven in back-to-back fights can put an opponent in serious trouble. But due to judge MIKE BELL’s scorecard pushing this fight to a split draw, it’s not over between these two fighters.
If you judge the fight on the “eye test”, an argument can be made for the other two cards 48-47 either way. However, a 10-8 final round based on 90-seconds of control time does make you scratch your head. Which makes for the case that while judge’s cards are made public, they should if requested be allowed to speak on what they saw. That however, will never be allowed by any commission.
The back and forth scrap showed a couple of things. These two ladies are perfect foils for one another. And that not only is Shevcheko being pushed by the athletes clock at the age of 35, but by talent. Two tough wars with Grasso following a hard battle with Taila Santos. While the duo cracked each other with pinpoint jabs, the action on the mat was just as impressive. Along with Grasso’s stance switches forcing Shevchenko to make adjustments on the fly.
It’s Not Over Between Them, But Might Not Happen Just Yet… Or Does It…
The UFC has already done a straight trilogy once. With another Mexican of all things with Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo en route to a foursome. The fact that it’s in the men’s flyweight division, makes this a tad bit ironic as well.
But the fact is there is no clear “next up” fighter. Shevchenko and Grasso are the two best. But the two hottest are Manon Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield. They teased a number one contender fight, and now with this split draw, that has to happen. Or put all four names into a hat and you can not go wrong how it comes out. However, Fiorot provides a tougher test for Grasso. She’ll have a height and reach advantage, and is a sniper with power from the outside, with kicks and strikes.
But either way “Bullet” wants another crack, at the strap that she held proudly. Although Grasso’s words post fight were non-committal to another scrap.
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