UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso claims a judge confessed to making a ‘huge mistake’ in identifying a supposed illegal knee in her rematch with Shevchenko.
After submitting ‘The Bullet’ to become UFC flyweight champion in 2023, Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko went to the judges’ scorecards and a rare draw in their UFC Noche rematch in September.
Speaking to CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri, Grasso has now claimed that one of the judges later admitted to the UFC that they had made a critical error when scoring the contest, mistaking a legal knee for an illegal blow, and only catching on after the fact.
Alexa Grasso claims judge admitted to ‘huge mistake’ during title fight
The highly anticipated rematch between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko turned controversial after the judges’ scorecards read a draw, meaning that the Mexican grappler retained her flyweight title.
Grasso and Shevchenko were recently confirmed to be the new coaches for The Ultimate Fighter season 32, scheduled to start its broadcast in June, with a trilogy fight expected later in 2024.
Speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri via the SHAK MMA YouTube channel, Alexa Grasso claimed that one of the three judges scoring the 2023 rematch reportedly confessed to making an error after the contest:
“I’m honestly disappointed that one judge made a huge mistake because, after the fight, he spoke to the UFC that he had a confusion…So, [for the] third fight, I’m committed to give everything, get a finish and to not leave it to the judges.”
Expanding on what that ‘confusion’ was, the 30-year-old Mexican star explained that there were several knees that she landed on the head of Shevchenko in the later stages of the fight.
Whilst those knees were legal, Grasso claimed that one judge reportedly misidentified the shots as illegal and scored the round differently as a result – only to realize the error after the scorecards had already been delivered:
“It was because of the knees…Between the fourth and fifth rounds, they had to replay and watch to see about that knee, but it was after they gave in the cards. They didn’t know if those were legal [at the time], that was a mistake.”
“After the replay, he saw that those were legal and he wanted to dismiss that…It’s sad that [these] things happen but it is what it is, don’t leave it to the judges.”
Whilst a third title fight between Grasso and Shevchenko has not yet been officially confirmed by the UFC, fans are expecting the pair to do battle once again after season 32 of TUF concludes its broadcast this summer.
One option would be to hold Grasso vs Shevchenko 3 in The Sphere in Las Vegas at UFC 306 in September for the second UFC Noche event, i.e., Mexican Independence Day.