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Andreas Hale, ESPN
Valentina Shevchenko said she is wary of allowing the judges determine the outcome of her trilogy bout with flyweight champion Alexa Grasso after their previous meeting ended in a controversial split draw.
Shevchenko will try to regain the title when she meets Grasso for the third time at Noche UFC at The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.
When they fought last September, one judge scored the final round for Grasso with a 10-8 scorecard, leading to the draw that allowed Grasso to retain her title. Shevchenko was unhappy with the result and believed the scores might have been swayed by fan reaction in support of Grasso, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico. The fight took place at the inaugural Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena during Mexican Independence Day weekend.
“We know why this fight is happening,” Shevchenko told ESPN on Wednesday. “It was a draw because of a mistake by one of the judges. If not for that mistake, the victory was mine. [I heard the scores] and was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s hard to believe this is happening.’
“I hope it was by accident and wasn’t done on purpose because of personal reasons.”
The trilogy once again will happen during Mexican Independence Day weekend. Shevchenko said she is determined not to leave the fight in the judges’ hands.
“I have to definitely finish the fight and don’t let it go to the judges’ scorecards,” Shevchenko told ESPN. “That is my No. 1 goal.”
Grasso stunned Shevchenko with a fourth-round submission to win the flyweight championship at UFC 285 in March 2023. The split draw in the rematch followed. After the two coached opposite each other on the recent season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the third fight was booked for the UFC’s first event at The Sphere in what UFC president Dana White has said will be the greatest sporting event of all time due to the high-end production planned for the night.
“This will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Shevchenko said about competing at the $2.3 billion venue. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to go out there and see it because I will have tunnel vision for my fight that night. But I will definitely watch it on videotape after it’s over.”