UFC 285: Valentina Shevchenko vs Alexa Grasso Set for Flyweight Title
Valentina Shevchenko is set to defend UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship against Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 PPV.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported the news which came from Shevchenko’s team. The report says both sides have come to an agreement for the fight. The bout will be the co-main event for UFC 285.
Valentina Shevchenko holds the flyweight title since December 2018 at UFC 231. Shevchenko defeated UFC Legend Joanna Jędrzejczyk to win the vacant title. She has defended the titles 7 times since then. The most recent of her title defenses came against Talia Santos at UFC 275 in Singapore.
#2 in UFC women’s Pound for Pound rankings, Shevchenko can be considered one of the greatest female MMA fighters of all time. She holds several records in UFC’s women’s flyweight division including most wins, consecutive wins, most title defenses for a single titles by a woman in UFC and most takedowns among others.
Shevchenko just has two losses in her UFC career which came against UFC Bantamweight Championship Amanda Nunes. She also has wins over Holly Holm, Julianna Peña, Katlyn Chookagian and Liz Carmouche to name a few. Her only loss outside UFC came to Liz Carmouche in 2010.
Alexa Grasso has risen to #4 rank in UFC Women’s Flyweight Ranking thanks to her 4-fights winning streak. This run started when Grasso switched to flyweight division in 2020.
Grasso has defeated Ji Yeon Kim, Maycee Barber, Joanne Wood and Viviane Araújo during this run. Could her winning run continue when she face Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285?
UFC 285 takes place on March 4, 2023, and will be headlined by the vacant Heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane.
