UFC 285: Valentina Shevchenko backed to defend flyweight crown against Alexa Grasso
- Liam Hampton
- 3 March 2023
In the first women’s title fight of the year, UFC 285 has queen of the flyweight division Valentina Shevchenko defend her belt against Alexa Grasso.
Shevchenko's career has exploded since moving down from the bantamweight division. Nine straight victories peppered with finishes of every kind makes her one of the most ferocious fighters in the UFC.
Sporting some of the most dominating wrestling in the organisation, Shevchenko's signature gameplan has seemed borderline unstoppable.
The defending champ takes down opponents and dishes out punishment which has led to three finishes via ground and pound (not including the beating she put on Pricilla Cachoeira).
Grasso has enjoyed mixed success in the UFC, a career strawweight with a respectable 3-3 record featuring a win over one time title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
A defeat to former champion Carla Esparza caused her to reassess and make the leap up to flyweight to test her skills.
Since then, she has looked rejuvenated, sporting a four-fight win streak and securing the first submission win of her career against Joanne Wood.
Despite the improvements, its hard to look past the dominance that Shevchenko has shown in the UFC.
