Flyweight Queen Valentina Shevchenko will strive to make it her eighth consecutive title defence this weekend when she faces Alexa Grasso at the co-main event of UFC 285 in Las Vegas. The Kyrgyzstani Shevchenko, who is the UFC's longest-reigning champion, has not dropped a fight since she moved to flyweight. Similarly, Mexican Alexa Grasso has got a new wind in the UFC since moving up to flyweight and comes into this bout on a four-match winning streak. The championship fight will be held on March 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the T-Mobile arena.
MMA: UFC Women's Flyweight Championship
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Where to watch: PPV
Date: 5.3.2023, 6:00
Valentina Shevchenko
At 35 years old, Valentina Shevchenko says she has been in martial arts for three decades. Coming from a family of sports people with her mother, the head of the Muay Thai association in Kyrgyzstan, and an older sister who also competes in the Flyweight division of the UFC, Shevchenko is an acclaimed Judo, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, and Kickboxing artist. Making her UFC bow in 2015 at Bantamweight, Shechanko earned a 3-2 record and fought for the Bantamweight championship, which she lost to Amanda Nunes in 2017. Since she moved to 125 Ibs, she has been impeccable, first winning the title from Joanna Jedrzejczyk in late 2018 2018 and going 8-0 in the weight class with seven successful title defenses since.
I never want to start thinking about what is going to happen because then you start to overlook your [upcoming fight] and think about what may happen and when you do that, there's a good chance everything goes wrong. In my experience of 30 years in martial arts, I have learned the important thing is to focus only on one thing, what is going on in the ring [in my next fight]. Once you start to plan or dream about something else other than winning your fight, you lose sight of what your main focus is. Thinking about who I might fight next or what record or accomplishment I get is a way of distracting you and it's not right for the fighter.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 35
- Height: 5' 5"
- Reach: 66.5"
- Record: 23-3-0
Alexa Grasso
The 29-year-old Mexican has hit fine form since she moved up weight from Strawweight. She comes into this bout riding a four-match win streak, including a unanimous win last October over number eight-ranked flyweight Viviane Araújo. Alexa Grasso joined the UFC in 2016 from Invicta and is now number six in the UFC women's Flyweight rankings. She earned a Fight of the Night bonus in her loss against Carla Esparza in September 2019 and scored the third most significant strikes thrown in a 3-round fight (369) in her 2019 win over Karolina Kowalkiewicz. The Guadalajara native is unbeaten in the Flyweight division.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 29
- Height: 5' 5"
- Reach: 66"
- Record: 15-3-0
Betting Odds
Shevchenko is a massive favorite to win this bout. Risky hunters can look at 5.50 odds for a Grasso win on Bet 356. A less risky venture may be betting on the fight to go the distance at 2.25 odds on Bet 365. Other options are Shevchenko (W1) by KO/TKO or points victory at 1.8 odds on 1xbet. Coinplay has Shevchenko to win by unanimous decision at 3.3 odds.
