Mexico’s newest UFC champion will get to compete for the first time as champion as Alexa Grasso puts her women’s flyweight title on the line on September 16 in Las Vegas, according to reports.
Grasso is all set to face the woman she defeated to win the belt, Valentina Shevchenko, in a championship rematch that carries additional significance for the newly-crowned 125-pound champion. The Schmo first reported news of the matchup and further outlets have since confirmed the matchup.
September 16 is Mexican Independence Day, and it seems clear the UFC are planning to mark the occasion with an event to celebrate that fact, with Grasso set to play a starring role.
Although the event is currently understood to be a UFC Fight Night event, the show will be very different to most Fight Night events held in Vegas, with the UFC set to swap the UFC Apex for their regular Las Vegas pay-per-view home of the T-Mobile Arena.
Grasso sensationally captured the flyweight crown when she ended Shevchenko’s dominant reign with a fourth-round rear-naked choke submission of the long-reigning champion. Few fancied Grasso to defeat the Kyrgyzstan champion, and fewer still thought that if she could, that it would be via submission. But Grasso upset the form book and stunned the oddsmakers by dethroning Shevchenko at UFC 285 to become the first women’s champion from Mexico in UFC history.
The bout will see the pair face off in an immediate rematch, with Grasso looking to underline her status as champion, while Shevchenko bids to prove that her loss earlier this year was simply a blip. Prior to her defeat, “Bullet” had dominated the flyweight division since capturing the vacant title by defeating Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231.
Shevchenko defended her title seven times, with wins over Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian, Jennifer Maia, Jessica Andrade, Lauren Murphy, and Taila Santos. But that title run came to an end against Grasso, who will go into the rematch riding a five-fight win streak.