[autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] is back on top of the flyweight throne.
Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC) closed out her trilogy with Alexa Grasso (16-4-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) by landing eight takedowns en route to a decisive unanimous decision win. The women’s flyweight title bout was the UFC 306 co-main event at Sphere in Las Vegas.
Grasso kicked off the fight with a flurry as Shevchenko landed a solid counter left. Shevchenko made Grasso pay again on the entry, this time with a counter right. Shevchenko shot in for a takedown and got it. Grasso whipped up a triangle off her back, then transitioned to an armbar attempt, but Shevchenko broke free. Grasso continued to attack from the bottom by attempting a guillotine, but Shevchenko defended well. Shevchenko ended the round by taking Grasso’s back.
Less than a minute into Round 2, Shevchenko landed another takedown. Grasso got quite deep into an armbar attempt, but she was shucked off. As Shevchenko tried to take her back, Grasso used it as an opportunity to get back up, but she was immediately taken down again. Grasso once again threatened from bottom, but Shevchenko was wise to it.
The first half of Round 3 played out on the feet, with Shevchenko mixing in kicks to her offense. Midway through the round, Shevchenko took Grasso down and worked towards an arm-triangle choke. She maintained control for the rest of the round.
Shevchenko found herself in trouble early in Round 4 as Grasso jumped into a deep guillotine choke. However, Shevchenko escaped and worked towards an arm-triangle choke. More control time for the challenger as she ended the round raining down punches in the crucifix position.
Desperation time for Grasso who was down big heading into the final round. A Shevchenko takedown attempt was stuffed by Grasso, who shot for a takedown of her own, but she wasn’t able to keep her down. Shevchenko landed two brief takedowns, as the pair clinched. “The Bullet” ended the fight with one more takedown, closing out the fight in back control.
SHE'S BACK ON TOP 🏆@BulletValentina is ONCE AGAIN the FLYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD!
[ #UFC306 | @RiyadhSeason #NocheUFC ] pic.twitter.com/KetYsLKims
— UFC (@ufc) September 15, 2024
After defending her flyweight title seven times in her first reign, Shevchenko recaptured her belt.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 306 results include:
- Valentina Shevchenko def. Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)– to win women’s flyweight title
- Diego Lopes def. Brian Ortega via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Esteban Ribovics def. Daniel Zellhuber via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ronaldo Rodriguez def. Ode Osbourne via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
- Norma Dumont def. Irene Aldana via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ignacio Bahamondes def. Manuel Torres via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:02
- Ketlen Souza def. Yazmin Jauregui via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:02
- Joshua Van def. Edgar Chairez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Raul Rosas Jr. def. Aori Qileng via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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