Sports and athlete rivalries go hand in hand like bread and butter. Healthy competition and wanting to become better than your peers are two of the most natural instincts that people dealing with sports can have. Training all your life and stepping over obstacles does not mean you are guaranteed success. There are others in your sport, your category and division, who have been through the same but in a slightly different way, thousands of kilometers away.
Getting to the professional level and living off your athletic prowess only to get paired with, pit against, and compared to colleagues is how rivalries are born. Actually competing against them head to head and winning is how they are put to rest. Some sports have an easier time coming up with rivalries. Of course, individual sports are the go-to option, particularly combat sports like boxing and mixed martial arts. There is no team to hold you back, nobody on your own side who you compete with for minutes or ball touches – just you and the opponent.
For these and other reasons, UFC gives us the best of rivalries in modern sports. The very notion of fighting the same opponent multiple times in a few years is enough for the fans to go crazy as well as for the fighters to make or break their careers. In this article, we talk about one such ongoing rivalry, Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko. It is the co-main event headline bout of UFC 306: Sean O’Malley VS Merab Dvalishvili. In preparation for the fight, Grasso sat down with Stake.com for an exclusive interview that we are going to go into detail on. Stay tuned if you are a fan of the sport and prepare to make some quality bets.
About the Event
Scheduled for September 14, 2024, the next iteration of UFC is going to be a memorable one for multiple reasons. First and foremost, it will be the first time ever that the famous Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, is going to host the event. Vegas has been the home of UFC for years now and it is hardly a surprise that the city of entertainment and pleasure is once again hosting the prestigious MMA fight night. However, the fact that it is the Sphere makes it that much greater and an instant classic.
Dana White talked about how the inside LED screens of the Sphere are going to be used during the fight. With videos and special visuals, it is bound to be a pleasure for the senses on top of the incredible lineup of fights planned for this Saturday. The Sphere is already famous all over the globe for its incredible entertainment potential. Both the outside and the inside are covered in LEDs and while we are familiar with how the building looks when something is being projected, the actual event is a chance to showcase it in a completely new light.
Another reason why the event is going to be special is the fact that it will be the second “Noche” event where the Ultimate Fighting Championship is celebrating Mexican culture. It is going to double as the celebration of Mexican Independence Day, so what better way to do so than to have the first woman ever to hold a UFC title belt, Alexa Grasso, defend her championship against the former champ and the fighter she beat to win it?
What Did Grasso Say in the Interview?
The reason for this exclusive talk with the online sports betting and casino platform Stake is two-fold. Firstly, Grasso is the Stake UFC ambassador meaning she has a partnership with them as their official athlete for the sport. As such, she is the perfect person to talk to when it comes to Stake UFC predictions so that the fans and bettors can make informed decisions and place high-quality bets on upcoming fights. Having the women’s flyweight champion on board for an exclusive before a big event is good for business, the fans, and the sport, as well as for Alexa herself to promote her fight and her career in general.
The second reason why the interview is important and why she is the perfect person for the job deals with her Mexican heritage. Being the first Mexican woman to win a UFC title has been a huge deal for her country, for the sport of UFC there, and for the growth of mixed martial arts as a sport of interest for the kids. She knows that she is a role model now and enjoys being one. She was a part of the first Noche UFC event on September 16, 2023, when she also fought Shevchenko. It was their second overall meeting, held at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Las Vegas. Grasso has become synonymous with Mexican UFC/MMA and she is here for it.
The Rivalry
The upcoming fight is going to be the third overall between Alexa and Svetlana. Already it is shaping up to be one of the greatest rivalries ever in women’s Ultimate Fighting Championship, and for good reason. The first time they met was back on March 4, 2023, at UFC 285. Back then a heavy underdog in the bout, she managed to win by a face crank submission in the fourth round. As Shevchenko was the title holder, the win meant that Grasso had won her first flyweight championship. It was also voted the Performance of the Night, the first time Grasso earned this award as well.
This was a huge turning point in both women’s careers. Shevchenko was now a former champion hungry to get it back, while Alexa was the new champion, which meant everyone would be coming for the belt. And who came knocking first only 6 months later on September 16, 2023? Well, it was Valentina again. That is what great athletes do. Immediately after a failure they get back on track to regain their status. But Grasso was ready. When their next fight arrived, officially dubbed IFC Fight Night: Grasso VS Shevchenko 2, she gave it her all. The result was a split draw, meaning she retained the title.
This means that the upcoming fight is their third in a row. For both of them, it will also be the third time in a row they fight each other. They did not want to do anything else but continue their rivalry. For both, it will be the third championship fight with the Flyweight on the line. Will Grasso defend it again or will Shevchenko get it back after losing it to her? For the rivalry and the sport, it would be more interesting if Svetlana won. For her legacy in the division to be cemented and the end of the rivalry after three straight positive results, Grasso has to win.
What was Said in the Interview?
Naturally, the Alexa Grasso exclusive interview with Stake mostly dealt with the rivalry and the upcoming UFC 306 showdown. The interviewer asked her many questions and the whole talk is a good read for every fan of the sport, especially those who enjoy wagering on the bouts. First-hand comments from athletes hold a lot of weight in the sports world and are even capable of influencing the odds.
The interviewer wanted to know what Grasso thought about Shevchenko prior to her own dominance in the flyweight division and eventually facing and beating her. We learn that she has been on her mind for years, as the Mexican jiu-jitsu martial artist revealed, “Even when I was […] in the flyweight division, Valentina Shevchenko was always the goal.” Obviously, Svetlana was on Alexa’s radar for years.
Commenting on their off-court relationship and how she views their healthy rivalry, Grasso showed us all what the sportsmanship spirit, and healthy competition look like. She stated, “We are both very professional […]. The day of the fight will be different […] we are going to kill each other.” This is exactly what the fans want to hear and why they enjoy Ultimate Fighting Championship rivalries so much.
The interviewer was daring and asked some sensitive questions about the potential aftermath of the fight in case Grasso wins and retains the championship. They asked Grasso if Shevchenko should retire if she beats her. Grasso simply said that she is “not the one who should say these things,” and that “it depends on the fight [and that it is] up to Valentina.”
The two touched upon the GOAT debate of course as we get a glimpse of what she thinks about potentially being the best in her division. Regarding these ambitions, Alexa Grasso simply said it was not up to her, but others, to decide that, but that it is the ultimate goal: “I’m not the one who chooses that title, but to be the greatest is the goal.” She also shared that she would like to fight against and beat everyone else in the division when the interviewer asked who else she was looking to conquer, “I would like to clear out the whole flyweight division.”
Other fighters and fights were topics of conversation as well. Grasso revealed what her dream fight would be, saying, “Weili Zhang is my dream fight. […] I would love to welcome her.” Zhang briefly fought in the flyweight division and has an avid career in strawweight. Still, this seems to be the super fight showdown Grasso wants to be in. Hear that Dana? Make it happen somehow!
Of course, she briefly mentioned the headliner of the night, the men’s bantamweight clash between the current champion Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. She does not seem to have a favorite and expects a good fight with both the American and Georgian having a chance. She said, “[Sean O’Malley] will have the power to hurt Merab badly, but Merab is also a very good wrestler.” It does seem she slightly leans in favor of the champ retaining his belt, though.
Who is Valentina Shevchenko?
Born on March 7, 1988 (36 years) in Frunze, Kirghiz SSR, Soviet Union, Valentina Anatolievna “Bullet” Shevchenko is a Kyrgyzstani and Peruvian professional mixed martial artist and former UFC flyweight champion. She is 165 cm tall, weighs 57 kg, and has a reach of 169 cm. As a former Muay Thai kickboxer, this marital art is her preferred style. She is a southpaw, her team is Tiger Muay Thai and her trainer is Pavel Fedotov.
So far in her MMA career, she has fought 28 times and has 23 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw. By knockout, she won 8 times with 7 wins by submission and 8 by decision. Her kickboxing career was also fruitful with 57 wins and 3 losses. She also fought in 2 pro boxing fights, winning both. Chevchenko first became Flyweight champion in 2018 at UFC 231 beating Joanna Jedzejcyk by unanimous decision. She then went on to defend the belt 7 times before losing to Grasso.
Valentina has an amazing career for the countries, mostly on the world stage. She first represented Kyrgyzstan, winning gold medals at the 2003 and 2006 World Championships. In 2007, she represented Russia, winning another gold. Then in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014, she brought 5 gold medals to Peru. A lone silver was also hers in 2011. At the 2010 and 2013 World Combat Games, she won 2 more golds.
Other UFC 306 Fights
There are 8 other scheduled fights apart from Grasso vs Shevchenko and O’Malley vs Dvalishvili. The remaining 3 main card bouts see the featherweight duel between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes, the lightweight fight between Daniel Zellhuber and Esteban Ribovics, and the flyweight bout where Ronaldo Rodriguez will fight Ode’ Osbourne.
In the preliminary card, there are going to be 4 bouts, 2 women’s and 2 men’s. In the women’s bantamweight, Irene Aldana is going up against Norma Dumont. In the women’s strawweight, it is Yazmin Jauregui versus Ketlen Souza. The men’s lightweight sees Ignacio Bahamondes clashing with Manuel Torress while the flyweight fight is between Edgar Chairez and Joshua Van. Finally, the lone early preliminary matchup pits Raul Rosas Jr. against Aori Qileng.