Last month, Alexa Grasso (16-3-1) fought to a split draw with Valentina Shevchenko (23-4-1) to retain her UFC flyweight title, but once the champion got back in the gym, she realized that she sustained a hand injury during the bout.
View this post on Instagram
The UFC honored Mexican Independence Day back on September 16 with an 11-fight card entitled Noche UFC. Culminating the celebration in the form of a main event came the rematch between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.
In March, Grasso defeated Shevchenko and put an end to her title run by securing the submission victory in the fourth round. In last month’s rematch, the pair went the distance, but what became the headline was the questionable scoring from Mike Bell, who deemed the final round 10-8 for Grasso which forced the split decision draw.
Through the draw, Grasso remained the champion, but unfortunately realized that she suffered a broken hand well after the fact, which ultimately resulted in corrective surgery.
The irony surrounding this injury is not lost on the MMA fan base, as Shevchenko also suffered a broken hand in this fight. But in her case, she realized it right away, and was unable to use the hand for the majority of the fight. She then had surgery just one week following the contest.
But doctor said it was challenging to unite the crushed bones.
Recovery from anesthesia wasn’t fun at all! Spend whole day in the bed, taking pain relief pills 🥲Today filling already better 🙏 and were able to go walk to Muscle Beach to charge strong energy for my recovery💪🙂 pic.twitter.com/oQC4C3jJ61— Valentina Shevchenko (@BulletValentina) September 27, 2023
Dana White has confirmed that the right move to make is the trilogy fight between Grasso and Shevchenko. With the surgeries behind both women, they are on the road to recovery and we can look forward to another monumental women’s MMA bout in 2024.
“The craziest sh*t I’ve ever seen in my life.” 😲
Dana White rips 10-8 score in Grasso-Shevchenko 2 at #NocheUFC, and says the trilogy title fight will happen next.
More: https://t.co/AFjx6qm6cB pic.twitter.com/4kI0VZQvPe
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 20, 2023