Valentina Shevchenko was surprised at the number of people who had picked Alexa Grasso to beat her at UFC 306.

Shevchenko secured a unanimous decision win to become the UFC Flyweight Champion. She entered the fight following a controversial split draw against Grasso at UFC Noche last year. Mike Bell’s controversial 10-8 scorecard for Grosso in the final round meant that Shevchenko was prevented from getting the win. A lot of people in the MMA community felt that Shevchenko had been deprived of victory.

Even Dana White hit out at the scorecard. Heading into the fight, many fighters picked against Shevchenko. Some of those who picked Grasso were Gerald Meersschaert and Kyle Nelson. But Valentina stepped up to the plate. She neutralized any takedown attempts, whilst overpowering her opponent to win a comfortable unanimous decision. Shevchenko could not understand why so many people had picked against her since she is a world champion.

“Surprisingly for me, many UFC fighters, many pro fighters, when they had their picks before our third fight, they said, ‘Grasso…oh Grasso.’ It was kind of one-sided. It was a little bit surprising for me. I would take it from people who don’t know much about martial arts, and they just want to see (stupidity) in the striking, like (finding out) who has a stronger chin, a stronger head, and it doesn’t involve too much technique, too much fighter IQ, too much of the character of the fighter,” Shevchenko said 

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I bet on her. Easiest money I ever made 🤑

— Covert Bets MMA (@CovertBetsMMA) September 24, 2024

I didn’t.
Unlucky in first fight.
Too timid in second.

— 🦨Jimmy the Skunk🦨 (@TheUndeadSkunk) September 23, 2024

Picked Val first two fights then grasso last one lmao. Even though I thought Val had one of the worst score cards that was clearly rigged I thought grasso was improving and Val on the down. I thought with an extra year added further only benefited grasso but I was sooo wrong.

— SickydoesMMA (@SICKYDOESMMA) September 23, 2024