Alexa Grasso to Rematch Valentina Shevchenko on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas

El evento del 16 de septiembre me confirman será en el T-Mobile Arena y la idea es que se llegue a un acuerdo y una de las peleas por título sería la revancha entre Alexa Grasso 🇲🇽 vs Valentina Shevchenko 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/5p8AhOIUFq

— MMA Latinoamérica (@ClubDeLasMMA) June 8, 2023

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is running back the biggest upset of the year thus far in September.

Earlier in June, MMA Latinoamerica reported that the UFC was putting together the rematch between flyweight champ Alexa Grasso (16-3) and former queen Valentina Shevchenko (23-4). The report stated that the fight would be held on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas, and further reports have noted that it will likely be taking place in the T-Mobile Arena. UFC head Dana White informed Yahoo! Sports on Thursday that the fight would indeed go down on this date in Las Vegas, while not confirming the venue itself.

With the UFC still traveling to Sydney on Sept. 9 for UFC 293 the week before, it is unlikely but not impossible the promotion will run back-to-back pay-per-view cards, which would make this a UFC Fight Night show. Should this remain accurate, it would be the first UFC event since UFC Fight Night 172 in July 2020 to feature a belt on the line for a non-PPV.

Closing as a massive -900 favorite against the challenger, Shevchenko had won two of the three rounds leading up to Round 4 in March. In that co-main attraction at UFC 285, however, disaster struck for “Bullet” as she spun for an ill-timed kick that allowed Grasso take her back standing. Grasso ended up landing the takedown and secured the rear-naked choke grip over Shevchenko’s chin, and forced the unexpected tap. That loss concluded a championship reign for the Kyrgyzstani titleholder that spanned seven consecutive defenses – a record among female UFC fighters.

Grasso pulled off the unlikely upset to move her win streak to five in the division. The Mexican-born contender-turned-champion has not tasted defeat since shifting up to 125 pounds in 2020. After taking decisions over Ji Yeon Kim and Maycee Barber, Grasso submitted Joanne Wood and outworked Viviane Araujo in 2022 to earn a crack at gold. In what was just her second submission victory – the triumph over Wood her first – Grasso wrested the throne from Shevchenko. A little over six months later, and she will be defending for the first time in this rematch.

The expected UFC Fight Night event on Sept. 16 will go down in Las Vegas, likely in the T-Mobile Arena. Other than the newly announced flyweight championship bout, two fights are currently booked on its billing. Likely serving on the main card will be a middleweight scrap between Chris Curtis and Anthony Hernandez, while strawweights will also square off on the lineup when Lupita Godinez faces Sam Hughes.Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Kelvin Gastelum Tracy Cortez vs Jasmine Jasudavicius Edgar Chairez vs Daniel da Silva Cynthia Calvillo vs Elise Reed Daniel Rodriguez vs Santiago Ponzinibbio Daniel Zellhuber vs Christos Giagos Fernando Padilla vs Kyle Nelson Kevin Holland vs Jack Della Maddalena Alex Reyes vs Natan Levy Raul Rosas Jr. vs Terrence Mitchell