PHOTOS: Valentina Shevchenko's face turned blood-red due to Alexa Grasso's face crank
Valentina Shevchenko lost her first fight in 10 outings in the octagon against Alexa Grasso in the UFC 285 co-main event. The former flyweight champion's winning streak was snapped by challenger Grasso, who is now the third Mexican titleholder in the UFC.
Shevchenko's impeccable record in the division and in title fights was also broken, all courtesy of a brilliant face crank by Grasso in the fourth round. The first three frames saw the champion pull ahead in the fight and strongly assert herself. However, the closing stages of the fourth presented Grasso with an opportunity to take hold of her opponent's back after a failed spinning back kick.
Grasso capitalized on Shevchenko's mistake, bringing the champion to the ground. She then proceeded to squeeze her face and lock it in a face crank that ultimately led to 'Bullet' tapping out for the first time in her career. The impact of the face crank was clear to see on the broadcast and in pictures later uploaded to social media.
Check out Shevchenko's reddened face on Instagram:
A clear disparity can be seen on Valentina Shevchenko's face as Alex Grasso released the hold on her face.
Check out further images on Twitter:
Wow. That squeeze https://t.co/exF9qpI2Hm
Fans react to Valentina Shevchenko's face after Alexa Grasso's face crank
Fans on Twitter reacted to the face crank by Alexa Grasso on Valentina Shevchenko and praised the newly crowned champion's strength.
One fan wrote:
"That's what I call 'to squeeze the living sh*t outta her'. Kudos"
@Grabaka_Hitman That's what I call "to squeeze the living shit outta her". Kudos
Another commented:
"Squeezed the title out of her"
@Grabaka_Hitman Squeezed the title out of her
Other fans used humorous references to Oculus headsets and the Scottish complexion for Shevchenko's face.
"Looks like what the Oculus did to my forehead the first time I tried it"
@Grabaka_Hitman Looks like what the Oculus did to my forehead the first time I tried it
"She looks like a Scottish person the day after a sudden heatwave."
@Grabaka_Hitman @BoxingBusch She looks like a Scottish person the day after a sudden heatwave.
"Grasso made her look like Neapolitan ice cream lol"
@Grabaka_Hitman Grasso made her look like Neapolitan ice cream lol
"She squeezed her like a ketchup bottle."
@Grabaka_Hitman She squeezed her like a ketchup bottle.
"Made her look sunburned"
@Grabaka_Hitman Made her look sunburned
While some other fans compared Shevchenko's brief resilience to Ciryl Gane's in his main event showdown against Jon Jones, during which he lost to a guillotine choke:
"Shevchenko showed more character under submission than Gane"
"Jones had a deep, super leverage crank on Ganes neck. It's similar leverage points as a mounted guillotine. Most don't know what they are looking at, cause they never been in one, or applied one. 'Gane gave up'... No Gane was getting choked tf out!!! Badly."
@Grabaka_Hitman Shevchenko showed more character under submission than Gane
@BatmanAttacks @BatmanBoxing @Grabaka_Hitman Jones had a deep, super leverage crank on Ganes neck. It's similar leverage points as a mounted guillotine. Most don't know what they are looking at, cause they never been in one, or applied one. "Gane gave up"... No Gane was getting choked tf out!!! Badly.