The Ultimate Fighting Championship is running back
the biggest upset of the year thus far in September.

Earlier in June, MMA
Latinoamerica reported that the UFC was putting together the
rematch between flyweight champ Alexa
Grasso (16-3) and former queen Valentina
Shevchenko (23-4). The report stated that the fight would be
held on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas, and further
reports have noted that it will likely be taking place in the
T-Mobile Arena. UFC head Dana White informed
Yahoo! Sports on Thursday that the fight would indeed go down
on this date in Las Vegas, while not confirming the venue
itself.

With the UFC still traveling to Sydney on Sept. 9 for UFC 293 the
week before, it is unlikely but not impossible the promotion will
run back-to-back pay-per-view cards, which would make this a

UFC Fight Night show. Should this remain accurate, it would be
the first UFC event since UFC Fight Night 172 in July 2020 to
feature a belt on the line for a non-PPV.

Closing as a massive -900 favorite against the challenger,
Shevchenko had won two of the three rounds leading up to Round 4 in
March. In that co-main attraction at UFC 285, however, disaster
struck for “Bullet” as she spun for an ill-timed kick that allowed
Grasso take her back standing. Grasso ended up landing the takedown
and secured the rear-naked choke grip over Shevchenko’s chin, and
forced the unexpected tap. That loss concluded a championship reign
for the Kyrgyzstani titleholder that spanned seven consecutive
defenses – a record among female UFC fighters.

Grasso pulled off the unlikely upset to move her win streak to five
in the division. The Mexican-born contender-turned-champion has not
tasted defeat since shifting up to 125 pounds in 2020. After taking
decisions over Ji Yeon Kim
and Maycee
Barber, Grasso submitted Joanne Wood
and outworked Viviane
Araujo in 2022 to earn a crack at gold. In what was just her
second submission victory – the triumph over Wood her first –
Grasso wrested the throne from Shevchenko. A little over six months
later, and she will be defending for the first time in this
rematch.

The expected UFC Fight Night event on Sept. 16 will go down in Las
Vegas, likely in the T-Mobile Arena. Other than the newly announced
flyweight championship bout, two fights are currently booked on its
billing. Likely serving on the main card will be a middleweight
scrap between Chris
Curtis and Anthony
Hernandez, while strawweights will also square off on the
lineup when Lupita
Godinez faces Sam Hughes.





Source link

Alexa Grasso to Rematch Valentina Shevchenko on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas