Órale, vato! The UFC have just announced a rematch of the women’s flyweight world title for September 16th (what a date!) between the NEW flyweight world champion, Alexa Grasso and Valentina “The Bullet” Shevchenko. As if you couldn’t tell, I am EXTREMELY excited for fight, and in this piece, I’m going to tell you why. Read on below to find my breakdown of this fight, and who I think might win!

Alexa Grasso: Pride of a Fighting Nation

Alexa Grasso represents a truly excellent fighting country – Julio César Chávez, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Brandon Moreno and Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez – do you really need me to keep going? Growing up in my formative years in the North of Ireland as an avid combat sports fan, Mexico occupies a special spot in my soul for this very reason. Mexico is a nation of warriors, whether it be with 10oz gloves or 40z, Mexico has more than made its mark in the world of combat sports. Champions after champions after champions. A nation of excellence. A nation of upsetting the odds, and that brings me to our current champion…

Alexa Grasso is truly a star, and someone who has long been touted for stardom. Starting amongst the strawweights, Grasso struggled initially, with a weight cut gone wrong against Claudia Gadelha finally forcing her to take the decision to ascend to the flyweight division. Since then, she simply has not looked back, and is unbeaten in the flyweight division. Wins over Joanne Wood and Vivianne Araujo led Grasso to the meat grinder of facing Valentina “The Bullet” Shevchenko, arguably the greatest female mixed martial artist to ever exist; a woman who was on an undefeated tear running back to 2017; a woman who was straight up unbeatable. So, this fight should have only gone one way, right…..?

Alexa Grasso pulled off a stunning upset to dethrone Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285, becoming the new UFC women’s flyweight champion. (Image Credit: ESPN UK).

Except it didn’t. The underdog pulled off a fourth-round submission to defy the odds and become the new women’s flyweight champion of the world. Doing what nobody else could. Doing what nobody else thought Alexa Grasso could do. So, you might well be sitting there (or standing, depending on where you are) scratching your head in disbelief when I tell you I wasn’t shocked by this? I know, I know, but let me explain….

So, Keelin – Why Weren’t You Surprised?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some kind of MMA oracle – far from it, actually. I wasn’t shocked that Alexa Grasso won the UFC flyweight title, and it came as no surprise to me for two simple words – Taila Santos.

If you cast your mind back far enough to UFC 275 in June of 2022, you may remember that Valentina Shevchenko defended her flyweight title against one Taila Santos. You might also remember an extremely close split decision that was awarded to Shevchenko. Like you, I watched that fight live (stayed up until stupid o’clock in the morning, admittedly), and I felt convinced that Taila Santos won. I wasn’t sure if Valentina Shevchenko had stagnated, or if the new generation of MMA had simply caught up with her, but I was absolute in my belief that I had just seen Valentina Shevchenko look beatable and, dare I say, human for the first time in my life.

Valentina Shevchenko has long been the standard bearer for excellent in the UFC, but looked human for the first time in her split decision title defence against Taila Santos at UFC 275. (Image Credit: UFC)

This then brings me on to Alexa Grasso. Following said split decision, I knew that Valentina would have to look a lot better in her next fight when she defended her title against Alexa Grasso. And, to be honest….she didn’t. Sounds weird, right?

As soon as the first round ended, I felt weirdly confident that Alexa Grasso could actually win this fight. By the end of the second/third rounds, I was nearly convinced of it. By the fourth round, I was certainly amazed in the moment that Alexa Grasso submitted Valentina Shevchenko, but I genuinely was not surprised that Grasso actually did what many thought impossible – It seemed inevitable to me.

So, Can Valentina Shevchenko Reclaim Her Throne?

There’s a very famous saying – “Time and tide wait for no man” (or woman, in this case). I, like nearly everybody, never thought that time would ever catch up to “The Bullet”. In fact, on a past podcast in a past life, I even said that Valentina could remain champion for as long as she wanted to. I said that, and I believed that, because I never thought that the fight game could evolve as quickly as it has. But it has, and it has evolved at a tornado pace. Alexa Grasso is probably the most prevalent example of this. And it begs a very important question – can Valentina Shevchenko reclaim her throne?

Valentina Shevchenko is certainly more than capable of reclaiming her flyweight throne, but it is her reaction to being the challenger that will be the most intriguing factor in this fight. (Image Credit: Sportskeeda)

I still believe that Valentina is one of the best fighters in the game, make no mistake about it. And in terms of sheer talent, there is no doubt that she could definitely get her belt back. Amanda Nuñes did it against Julianna Peña. But what is most interesting to me is how Valentina will react to being upset in such a huge way, against such a big underdog. That’s what will determine whether Valentina Shevchenko will reclaim the UFC women’s flyweight title. Make no mistake about it – Alexa Grasso will be coming into this fight confident, and fully knowing that she earned her title. I am really, really excited for this fight – and you should be too.

Ladies and Gentlemen – pencil September 16th into your calendars, because this fight is going to be a must see! The crossroads meeting between the old and the new school of MMA, the GOAT vs the future (and present). Let me know what you think of this fight, and who you think will win!

Keelin McNamara

[Scratches record] Yeah, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I ended up here…or not. My name’s Keelin McNamara, and I am an AVID combat sports fan. Always have been, and probably always will be. I started writing and podcasting about MMA in the Summer of 2020 (yeah, we don’t talk about that here either). I’ve been doing it ever since, and have loved every single minute of it! Thanks for checking out whatever it is you’re reading – I hope you enjoy it!