UFC President: Promotion ‘Definitely Working On’ Grasso-Shevchenko Title Rematch

It appears that an immediate rematch with Valentina Shevchenko will be next for newly-crowned flyweight champion Alexa Grasso.

Dana White indicated as much during the UFC Fight Night 223 post-fight press conference on Saturday. He did not reveal a potential date or event for the bout, however. “We’re working on that, too,” White said regarding the rematch. “That’s one of the fights we’re definitely working on right now.”

Grasso authored one of 2023’s biggest upsets when she submitted Shevchenko with a fourth-round face crank in the UFC 285 co-main event on March 4. That ended a streak of seven consecutive successful title defenses for Shevchenko, who had established herself as one of the top female pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

The 29-year-old Grasso has won five consecutive fights since moving up to 125 pounds from strawweight. Had the UFC elected to avoid an immediate rematch, Grasso had a number of interesting options for her first title defense including Erin Blanchfield, Manon Fiorot and Taila Santos.