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Valentina Shevchenko says Alexa Grasso is in for a tough time when they share the Octagon at Noche UFC this Saturday. Earlier this year, Grasso turned in an ‘Upset of the Year’ contender when she tapped Shevchenko at UFC 285 this past March. In her Octagon interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, the ‘Bullet’ lamented the ‘stupid situation’ that she thought led to her loss.
“This is kind of like what happens in mixed martial arts,” said Shevchenko. “You’re winning the fight all around, all three rounds, no doubt. And a stupid situation can change the whole game. This is the part of the game. Congratulations to Alexa, and I know that I’m stronger and if not this spinning kick, [it] would be a different result. Definitely, [I want] immediate revenge. I know I was winning the fight.”
Valentina Shevchenko plans on showing Alexa Grasso no mercy
Months removed from their first fight, Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso are set to do it again. This time, the ex-UFC champion expects to avoid any more costly situations in her quest to regain the championship.
“Watching the fight back, I would say I was winning all the fight, from first to the fourth round, except the last moment of the fourth round,” said Shevchenko during her media day on Wednesday (video provided by MMA Junkie). “And another thing, right now my mindset and my focus, I don’t go back to March. I don’t go back and think about what happened there. I did it already. I did it through all my training camp. I did it for all these months. Right now, I’m a person who’s motivated to get rid of that feeling of what it was back then in March.
“I am very determined on what I have to do this Saturday,” continued Shevchenko. “That’s why it’s my mindset. It’s never a watch back. Everything I had to take from the fight, I already took. Now, it’s strong energy, positive energy, no mercy. Go to the end. [This is how] I will step into Saturday.
“The position that I’m right now, I have no choice for any sentimental things. I have no time for that. It’s a fight. In this fight, I have to just go without any step back, always forward.”
Prior to her loss, Shevchenko was on a nine-fight win streak that included a slew of top contenders in Katlyn Chookagian, Jéssica Andrade and Taila Santos.
Grasso rejects Shevchenko‘s reasoning for losing UFC title
Though Valentina Shevchenko says her loss to Alexa Grasso was largely due to her own error, the Lobo Gym representative points out it was actually her strategy that did Shevchenko in.
“It just kind of surprised me because someone with such big experience and competing at this high, high level, we know that there are no accidents,” said Grasso at her media day on Wednesday (video provided by MMA Junkie). “I trained for that moment. You can also see the video that I had before the fight. I was training that exact same position, so it was something that I trained to win that fight.”
Grasso did indeed train that position, which she shared on social media after the fight.
Noche UFC goes down on Sat., Sept. 16, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for all your results, highlights and more from the event.
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