Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, two of only three women to hold the UFC flyweight title, both suffered hand injuries in a recent rematch, with Grasso successfully undergoing surgery for her injury and both fighters expressing interest in a trilogy bout.
Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, two of the only three women to hold the UFC flyweight title, share another similarity. During the closely fought rematch at Noche UFC in September, both fighters respectably endured hand injuries. Grasso just managed to hold onto her title by the skin of her teeth, courtesy of a contentious split draw. Adding another layer to the intense clash, after the fight, Shevchenko disclosed that she had a broken thumb.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t only Shevchenko who walked away from the bout with a hand injury; Grasso did too. The reigning champion revealed on Instagram that she too had sustained damage to her hand during the duel and had since had surgery to treat the damage. In her post, she said she initially dismissed the injury as minor but soon realized the fracture was prohibiting her from resuming her training, hence the requirement for surgical intervention.
In addition to sharing her recent medical procedure, Grasso dropped hints of an upcoming trilogy. Given that both fighters have expressed a keen interest, the stage appears set for another showdown. Grasso initially overtook Shevchenko at UFC 285 to claim the flyweight belt, went another five rounds with her at Noche UFC. However, the judgment of the second match was clouded by a debatable scorecard provided by judge Mike Bell. Notwithstanding, a few worthy challengers like Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot are lined up, though Grasso and Shevchenko’s recovery timelines might pave the perfect way for a third title match.