UFC: Alexa Grasso retains flyweight title with draw in Valentina Shevchenko rematch
- Published
Shevchenko (left) said she broke her thumb in the first round against Grasso
UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso retained her title with a draw in a rematch with Valentina Shevchenko.
Grasso became Mexico's first female UFC champion when she beat the Kyrgyzstan-born fighter in March to win her title.
Shevchenko was dropped with a right hand in the second of five rounds in Las Vegas before she bounced back with good work in the third.
Both fighters were awarded a 48-47 win by one judge apiece, while the other scored it a draw.
"I'm super happy," said Grasso, 30. "I knew this was going to be a war.
"I knew that she was coming different to before but I was prepared for that. I was prepared for everything.
"I did everything I had to do, that's what I'm taking from this fight. I did a nice knockdown and almost finished her again."
Shevchenko, 35, said she broke her thumb in the first round and, while she continued, it "affected her performance a little bit".
However, she was "upset" as she felt she had won the fight as "from five rounds, three rounds were on my side".
She added: "It was a little bit like pressure on the judges because it is Mexican independence day."