Alexa Grasso remains an unproven commodity when it comes to staying power. The Lobo Gym standout will defend the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s flyweight crown when she rematches Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC Fight Night 227 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Neither woman has fought since their first meeting, which saw Grasso unseat “Bullet” in a stunning fourth-round submission via face crank at UFC 285 in March. The loss was Shevchenko’s first in more than five years and closed the book on her nine-fight winning streak. Grasso, meanwhile, enters the sequel on the strength of five straight victories, her record inside the Octagon now a healthy 8-3.
As Grasso and Shevchenko make final preparations for their high-stakes showdown, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
Alexa Grasso’s Stats
Grasso is 30 years old, born in Guadalajara, Mexico on August 9, 1993. She has a career total of 4 wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 25% of her 16 career wins. Her list of victims includes Alida Gray, Alejandra Alvarez, Lupita Hernandez, and Sandra del Rincon. Grasso owns two other wins by submission (12%) and 10 more by decision (63%). She has banked $100,000 in post-fight bonuses across her 11 UFC appearances, earning “Performance of the Night” once and “Fight of the Night” once.
Grasso has started 48 rounds as a professional mixed martial artist, going the distance on 12 different occasions and carrying a 10-2 record in those bouts. The three opponents who have beaten Grasso – Carla Esparza, Tatiana Suarez, and Felice Herrig – boast a cumulative .717 winning percentage at 43-17.
Valentina Shevchenko’s Stats
Shevchenko is 35 years old, born on March 7, 1988 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She has 7 victories by submission, accounting for 30% of her career total of 23 wins. Her methods of choice include four rear-naked chokes, two armbars, and one Ezekiel choke. Shevchenko holds eight other victories by knockout or technical knockout (35%) and seven more by decision (30%). She spent 1,547 days as the undisputed UFC women’s flyweight champion, capturing the 125-pound crown with a five-round unanimous decision over Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 on December 8, 2018 and making seven successful title defenses before surrendering it to Grasso.
In their first encounter, Shevchenko outlanded Grasso by 28 significant strikes, connecting on 87 such strikes while absorbing only 59 in return. Shevchenko also completed four takedowns and piled up 5:24 of control time, all of it for naught. The cumulative winning percentage between the three opponents who have defeated Shevchenko – Grasso, Amanda Nunes (twice), and Liz Carmouche – is .795, with a combined record of 58-15.