Valentina Shevchenko vs Alexa Grasso to co-main Jon Jones vs Ciryl Gane at UFC 285
It appears the Ultimate Fighting Championship has found an opponent for UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (23-3), as she aims to make the eighth-straight defense of her crown opposing no. 4 ranked Alexa Grasso (15-3).
Headlining the event in the return of perhaps the greatest mixed martial artist to ever do it, former multi-time UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who comes back for the first time in over three years to battle former interim heavyweight champion and current no. 1 ranked Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight championship.
UFC 285 is to go down on March 4, 2023, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
Many people have been wondering what could be next for Valentina Shevchenko following her split decision victory over no. 2 ranked Taila Santos back at UFC 275, going down in June of last year.
It was the only close win of her entire career, the only woman not named Amanda Nunes she didn’t handily defeat.
That being said, she had four finishes through her first six title defenses, defeating the likes of former UFC champions Joanna Jedrzejczyk (fourth time she beat Jedrzejczyk, Valentina went 3-0 against her in kickboxing) and Jessica Andrade.
Alexa Grasso on the other hand, five years Shevchenko’s junior, has worked herself into a top spot in the rankings with a set of her own impressive performances, coming into her title clash on a four-fight win streak.
The Mexico native boasts octagon wins over the likes of former KSW flyweight champion Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Maycee Barber, Joanne Calderwood, and Viviane Araujo, her two most recent defeats coming to Tatiana Suarez and former two-time UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza.
You may notice both of those names are elite wrestlers, and Grasso is primarily a boxer, a very good boxer at that.
But will it be enough for the 57-2 former kickboxing champion in Valentina Shevchenko?
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