Shevchenko: I have no choice but to show no mercy
Noche ufc: Grasso-Shevchenko 2 – prelims live at midnight BST
Alexa Grasso (c) vs. Valentina Shevchenko [1]
Main event rematch for women’s flyweight title, ringwalks after 5am BST
Broadcast on TNT Sports in UK, ESPN+ in USA
In an immediate rematch for the UFC women’s flyweight title, Valentina Shevchenko looks to reclaim the title she surprisingly lost earlier this year.
Many have said her public comments in the months since resemble that of a sore loser – Alexa Grasso’s boxing kept her more competitive than many were expecting, although she was losing on the three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
Shevchenko believes she was in control for large periods, up until the costly spinning kick mistake which was quickly capitalised upon by an alert Grasso – so is it a case of studying errors and being even sharper defensively?
“I was winning all the fight from the first to the third round, except the last moment of the fourth. Right now my mindset and focus, I don’t go back to March. I did it already in my training camp, for all these months.
Right now, I’m motivated to get rid of that feeling back then in March – determined on what I have to do, it’s strong positive energy, no mercy.”
This marks the first time since 2018 that Shevchenko will enter a fight not defending UFC gold as champion, and while the dynamic has changed to that of a challenger mindset, Bullet believes nothing has changed for her personally.
“In the octagon, you have to perform your best with what you have, right? Speaking about Fight Nights, I have a very good score about fighting [on them], I’ve been very successful in my main events so it’s a good thing for me.”
Grasso, by contrast, is taking everything in her stride as the expectations have predictably heightened since that career-best win earlier this year.
During an interview she did in Spanish with MMA Junkie, the champion spoke about the topic of an instant rematch and what she’s looking forward to:
“It’s out of respect, and she deserves the rematch – it’s an honour to fight her again, because we can’t forget about everything she’s done: a great athlete, done incredible things for the sport, not only on the female side but overall.
Her career has been great, it motivates me even more and makes me train extremely hard because I know she’s doing the same.
We’re both bringing entirely new games, coming stronger, faster and more aggressive than the first fight. I love challenges and this is a big one.”
UFC Noche card in full, is as follows
Main card
Women’s Flyweight: Alexa Grasso (c) vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Welterweight: Kevin Holland vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Bantamweight: Raul Rosas Jr vs. Terrence Mitchell
Lightweight: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Christos Giagos
Featherweight: Kyle Nelson vs. Fernando Padilla
Prelims
Women’s Strawweight: Lupita Godinez vs. Elise Reed
Middleweight: Roman Kopylov vs. Josh Fremd
Flyweight: Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda
Women’s Flyweight: Tracy Cortez vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
Lightweight: Charlie Campbell vs. Alex Reyes
Women’s Strawweight: Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Marnic Mann
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via mmajunkie
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