Valentina Shevchenko Calls UFC 285 Loss ‘Frustrating,’ Felt She Was ‘Dominating’ Fight

Valentina Shevchenko was winning — that is, until she wasn’t.

The longtime flyweight champion was ahead 29-28 on all three cageside judges’ scorecards heading into Round 4 of her title defense against Alexa Grasso in the UFC 285 co-main event. That all changed when Shevchenko whiffed on a spinning back kick, which ultimately allowed Grasso to take her back and lock in a face crank for a submission victory at the 4:34 mark of the period.

“This is kind of like what happens in mixed martial arts,” Shevchenko said in her post-fight interview in the Octagon. “You’re winning the fight all around, all around, no doubt. And a stupid situation can change the whole game. This is the part of the game. Congratulations to Alexa, and I know that I’m stronger and if not this spinning kick [it] would be a different result.”

Shevchenko may have been on her way to winning that frame as well. According to UFCStats.com, “Bullet” held a 22-to-13 advantage in significant strikes and a 32-to-20 edge in total strikes landed prior to the finish. Instead, her reign ended in shocking fashion after seven mostly dominant title defenses. It was Shevchenko’s first defeat since a split-decision defeat to Amanda Nunes in a bantamweight title bout at UFC 215 in September 2017.

Shevchenko further reacted to the defeat in a post on her Instagram account.

“Martial arts is my life and I will be back for immediate rematch stronger than ever,” she wrote. “[Fighting] doesn’t forgive any mistake. Especially it feels frustrating when you [were] dominating all the fight. No excuses, only hard work. Ready to start all over.”

In many cases, long-reigning champions such as Shevchenko are granted immediate rematches after losing their belts. For her part, Grasso has already expressed a willingness to square off with Shevchenko again.

“Of course,” Grasso said at the post-fight press conference. “She was so dominant in the division. Of course we can do this again.”

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