Tag: Valentina Shevchenko

MMA Junkie’s 2023 Upset of the Year: Alexa Grasso def. Valentina Shevchenko

Alexa Grasso’s submission win over Valentina Shevchenko was one few saw coming, making her MMA Junkie’s 2023 Upset of the Year.

She had no chance.

That’s what people were saying when [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] finally got her shot at UFC gold.

It wasn’t because Grasso wasn’t quality or because she had gotten lucky on her way to the belt, or even because a rightful contender was injured or skipped over, and she wasn’t the best-suited person for the job. Quite the opposite. Grasso was undefeated at flyweight, was highly ranked, and had four consecutive wins.

Yet, it didn’t matter who Grasso beat or how she looked doing it. The Mexican fighter was never going to come close to [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] in terms of betting odds, and to be fair, that was true for any woman in the division.

Prior to UFC 285 on March 4, 2023, Shevchenko carried a prestige and an aura that UFC champions dream of. She wasn’t just the best at that current time in her division. She was a generational talent, a living legend, and already an all-time great who ruled over the UFC’s women’s 125-pound division with unmatched discipline and vast technical superiority.

No matter what Grasso did, she had no shot at beating Shevchenko, much less finishing her. If lucky, she might be able to say she went the distance with the greatest female flyweight in MMA history. That was the public sentiment.

Yet, MMA is going to MMA.

Meaning, just when you think a result is a given, the sport will remind you that you know nothing, and that fighters can make unimaginable leaps in evolution. That’s exactly what happened.

In the first round, Grasso more than held her own. To many’s surprise, she walked down Shevchenko, connecting with her crisp boxing. On all the judges’ scorecards that night in Las Vegas, Grasso won the first round.

In the second and third round, things returned to normality. Grasso would have her moments, but Shevchenko’s versatility kicked in, as she had success on the feet and mixed in her takedowns and dominant positioning. It seemed Grasso was en route to a moral victory. Even while losing, Grasso was looking phenomenal compared to Shevchenko’s previous title challengers. She wasn’t getting run over.

However, Grasso wanted to be more than a title contender waiting for the day Shevchenko retired from the sport, so then she could make a real run at the belt.

In the final minute of the fourth round, Grasso countered one of Shevchenko’s main attacks and took her back, something she had practiced in the lead up to the fight. From there, there was no mercy. Grasso would go for the rear-naked choke. As expected, Shevchenko did the proper defense by tucking in her chin, so that Grasso didn’t attack her neck – but that didn’t matter. Grasso was going to become champion, with or without her neck.

Grasso squeezed the jaw of Shevchenko with incredible pressure. It was too much to handle. Reluctantly, Shevchenko had no choice, but to find a way to relieve the pain, and there was only one way to do that – tapping out.

It was an incredible moment, literally.

Shevchenko’s historic run of title defenses shockingly came to an. She had never been finished in her career, and her only two losses in the UFC came a division above against the consensus greatest female fighter of all time, Amanda Nunes.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Few saw Grasso surviving 25 minutes, even less people saw her winning, and nobody saw her submitting Shevchenko. That’s why Grasso’s title-winning victory is MMA Junkie’s 2023 Upset of the Year.

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Defying the odds: The 10 biggest MMA betting upsets of 2023

Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2023, according to the oddsmakers, across Bellator, the UFC, PFL and more.

Who doesn’t love a good upset?

In 2023, MMA saw its fair share of underdogs who defied the odds in the UFC, Bellator, PFL, and beyond. While everyone has an opinion of who should win and who should lose, the oddsmakers (and how the betting public responds) largely get the final say on what history reflects.

This year, with the help of MMA database Tapology, MMA Junkie has compiled the top 10 betting upsets of 2023. Fights that were eligible were those that multiple major online sportsbooks recognized, and that Tapology recorded before the close of the betting line.

Promotions eligible include UFC, Bellator, PFL, KSW, DWCS, Road to UFC, and ONE Championship.

Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2023 below. Only major MMA promotions were included in the tally.

UFC in 2023: A ridiculously robust look at the stats, streaks, skids and record-setters

Check out a full recap of 2023’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2023’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

30 greatest UFC fighters of all time: Did enough women make our list?

Amanda Nunes, Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko, and Joanna Jedrzejczyk are the women on our 30 greatest UFC fighters. Is that it enough?

The UFC’s 30th anniversary date has come and gone, and in the build-up to the milestone date, MMA Junkie counted down its 30 greatest fighters of all time to compete for the promotion.

There was plenty of debate about the entire list from top to bottom, and one of our big talking points was the inclusion of women.

The final list was tabulated through a points system after voting from MMA Junkie’s 12-person staff. Four female fighters made our list – [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (No. 8), [autotag]Ronda Rousey[/autotag] (No. 20), [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (No. 22), and [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] (No. 27).

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On a special edition of “Spinning Back Clique,” the majority of our staff members came together to discuss and debate the finer points of the list. Did enough women make the list, or should any others have been included?

Check out the discussion in the video above, or watch the entire 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time podcast below.

MMA Junkie’s 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time: Full list and videos

To commemorate the UFC’s 30th anniversary, this is our definitive list of the promotion’s 30 greatest fighters of all time.

To commemorate the UFC’s 30th anniversary, MMA Junkie has compiled its definitive list of the 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time. We revealed one every day until the anniversary of UFC 1, which took place Nov. 12, 1993.

Our complete rankings, along with videos for each fighter, can be viewed below.

About the list: All 12 members of our staff submitted their own individual 30 greatest UFC fighters list. Each fighter was assigned a corresponding numerical value based on where they were ranked on an individual’s list, i.e. No. 1 = 30, No. 2 = 29, etc. We took those numbers and added them up to get a total number for each fighter to determine the composite ranking of MMA Junkie’s 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time.

30 greatest UFC fighters of all time: Valentina Shevchenko ranked No. 22

Valentina Shevchenko is the most dominant female champion the UFC has ever seen, making her one of the promotion’s 30 greatest fighters.

The UFC is celebrating its 30th year and to commemorate the milestone, MMA Junkie has compiled its 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time. Every day until the anniversary of UFC 1 on Nov. 12 (1993), we will reveal one fighter on our list.

Today, MMA Junkie reporter Danny Segura brings you No. 22: [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag].

You can watch Segura’s career retrospective on Shevchenko above; video produced by Ken Hathaway.

Also see:

About the list: All 12 members of our staff submitted their own individual 30 greatest UFC fighters list. Each fighter was assigned a corresponding numerical value based on where they were ranked on an individual’s list, i.e. No. 1 = 30, No. 2 = 29, etc. We took those numbers and added them up to get a total number for each fighter to determine the composite ranking of MMA Junkie’s 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time.

‘EA UFC 5’ rating release for best women’s bantamweight: Retired Amanda Nunes still on top

Check out the game ratings for the top five women’s bantamweights in “EA UFC 5,” the top two of which are not active in the division.

With the release of the “EA UFC 5” video game rapidly approaching, fans are wondering who the best characters in each weight class will be.

MMA Junkie will have the answer to some of those unknowns, as ratings are starting to be unveiled ahead of the Oct. 27 launch (with access on Oct. 24 with purchase of the Deluxe Edition) for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.

The countdown continues with the women’s bantamweight division, which does not currently have a champion after arguably the best female fighter in UFC history, Amanda Nunes, retired from competition earlier this year.

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Check below for a countdown of the top five rated women’s 135-pound fighters from “EA UFC 5,” who have their striking, grappling and health come together under a five-star system to create an overall rating out of five.

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for September: An ultra-rare title fight draw

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from September 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from September 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for September.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees

Every UFC title fight to end in a draw

It’s rare, but every now and then a UFC championship fight ends in a draw. Here’s a look back at the times it’s happened.

It’s rare, but every now and then a UFC championship fight ends in a draw.

Whether it’s because a title fight is closely contested or a point deduction or a judge’s inexplicable scorecard, we’ve come away from certain title fights with an unfulfilling result.

Below is a list of the draws that have been scored in UFC history.

Valentina Shevchenko lays out post-surgery timeline for Alexa Grasso trilogy fight

Valentina Shevchenko expects to be fully healed for a trilogy bout against Alexa Grasso in early 2024.

[autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] doesn’t expect to be out for long.

The former UFC women’s flyweight champion suffered a fracture on her right hand in her championship rematch against Alexa Grasso in the main event of last Saturday’s Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Shevchenko expects to get surgery next week in Las Vegas or Los Angeles and wants to get going with her recovery.

“Right now we’re speaking about scheduling it next week and I hope to have it the sooner, the better for me because the sooner I have the surgery, the sooner the recovery will start and the sooner I come back to the action,” Shevchenko told MiddleEasy.

Shevchenko (23-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) and Grasso (17-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) fought to a split draw at Noche UFC. Prior to that, they fought in March where Grasso submitted Shevchenko, ending her historic reign at 125 pounds. UFC CEO Dana White recently said a trilogy bout can be expected next for both fighters.

Shevchenko says the hand will take less than a couple of months to recover from surgery, and she should be fully fit to fight Grasso again sometime in the early part of 2024.

“My understanding is like two or six weeks, something like that, in a cast, but I still can do exercise and maintain my shape just no hand,” Shevchenko said. “After that, it’s going to be recovery and as I’m told, three or four months in full action, so it doesn’t sound that scary.”

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Although Shevchenko is confident she’ll be back fully fit soon enough, there’s always a possibility of complications with a recovery from surgery along the way.

The 35-year-old is staying positive, but if something does lengthen her recovery, she would be fine with Grasso fighting against another challenger as she recovers.

“My understanding that no matter what happens, my next fight is going to be for the title, definitely,” Shevchenko said. “It’s what it has to be and what it should be. But if something happens and (my recovery) is longer, I don’t want to hold the division.

“I don’t want to say, ‘No, you have to wait for me.’ If I were in that position, it would be backwards. I wouldn’t want to feel that. I wouldn’t want to stay and sit when I could fight, and I could use my time as a fighter. We as fighters could have a long time or a short time in fighting life. Me being on the other side, I wouldn’t want to be in that situation. That’s why I don’t want her to feel in the position that she can move, but she has to stay and sit and do nothing. Let’s hope I heal up very quickly, and we do the trilogy fight next.”

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