Valentina Shevchenko next fight: What’s next for ‘The Bullet’ after Alexa Grasso loss?

Valentina Shevchenko lost her Flyweight Championship against Alexa Grasso at UFC 285. What should the UFC propose her?

Valentina Shevchenko next fight: What’s next for ‘The Bullet’ after Alexa Grasso loss?

What should be next for Valentina Shevchenko (Image Courtesy - MMA News)

The fans were shocked when Alexa Grasso defeated flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285 to become the new champion in the women’s flyweight division. Shevchenko was dominant as a champion and no one expected Grasso to dethrone her as the flyweight queen. After the loss, the question on everyone’s mind is, what is next for Valentina Shevchenko?

Heading into the fight against Grasso, Valentina Shevchenko was undefeated as a flyweight. In the UFC, she had an eight-fight winning streak as a flyweight. After becoming the flyweight champion in 2018, Shevchenko defended the title seven times before failing to defend the title against Alexa Grasso.

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Valentina Shevchenko is among the most skilled fighters the UFC has ever seen. She had a decorated kickboxing career before transitioning to MMA. Her dedication and discipline led to her mastering wrestling and submission techniques to master her craft and ultimately becoming a UFC Champion.

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UFC 285 was an unfortunate night for her. She threw a spinning wheel kick that backfired when Grasso took control of her back and quickly looked for a submission. After struggling for moments, Shevchenko submitted to a vicious Rear-Naked Choke from Grasso. Until then, she was winning the fight in the judges’ scorecard. This brings the question of whether Valentina deserves an immediate rematch.

Related: “Ready to start all over,” Valentina Shevchenko finally breaks her silence after her devastating title loss against Alexa Grasso at UFC 285

Does Valentina Shevchenko deserve an immediate rematch?

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Valentina Shevchenko landing a strike against Lauren Murphy (Image Courtesy: Sports Illustrated)

Yes. Unquestionably, Valentina Shevchenko merits a rematch right away for the Flyweight Title. She is one of the best Champions in UFC women’s history. Seven times in a row, she has successfully defended the flyweight championship. Amanda Nunes, who successfully defended her bantamweight title five times in a row, is the next closest competitor to Shevchenko.

At UFC 269, Julianna Peña defeated Nunes for the Bantamweight championship. Nunes had previously defended her bantamweight championship five times in a row. An immediate rematch for the championship versus Pena was given to Nunes on the basis of her accomplishments and qualifications as a champion. The record for the most consecutive championship defences by a female fighter in the UFC belongs to Shevchenko. The same can be said of ‘Bullet’ based on that premise.

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Shevchenko’s resume and merits alone are enough to give her an immediate rematch. It remains to be seen if the UFC will provide her with the same. if given the chance, it will be interesting to see her fighting approach against Grasso to win her belt back.

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