Team Valentina Shevchenko accuses Alexa Grasso of illegal strikes in Noche UFC title fight
Team Valentina Shevchenko has accused Alexa Grasso of illegal head strikes during the Noche UFC title fight.
Shevchenko returned to the octagon this past weekend against Grasso in an attempt to regain the women's flyweight championship. However, after putting on a show for the fans for five rounds, 'Bullet' was left disheartened as the fight was announced as a split draw.
Speaking of the same in a lengthy Instagram post, Valentina Shevchenko's elder sister Antonina blasted Mike Bell, who gave the fifth round 10-8 to Alexa Grasso while the other two judges rightfully had it 10-9. 'La Pantera' also accused Grasso of landing illegal knees.
In the third round of the fight, Valentina Shevchenko appeared to have placed one hand on the ground when Alexa Grasso proceeded to hit her with several knee strikes to her head, which were overlooked by referee Herb Dean. It is worth noting that the rules differ from state to state in the USA, and according to the laws of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, both hands of the fighter should be touching the mat in order for him/her to be considered grounded, which wasn't the case here.
Despite the knee strikes being completely legal, Antonina Shevchenko had this to say:
"You didn't complain in 3rd round about 5 illegal knees that your opponent landed to the head! You continued the fight like a warrior! Please don't be upset, my dear sister! Everyone who saw this fight knows that you are the winner! It was a beautiful, spectacular fight between two high level opponents, with amazing MMA technique, which can be watched over and over."
Take a look at her post below:
Daniel Cormier wants to see a trilogy between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko
Following the rather controversial result of the rematch between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, many believe that a trilogy between the two is needed, including the UFC legend Daniel Cormier.
Speaking about the UFC women's flyweight championship fight at Noche UFC in a video posted on his YouTube channel, Daniel Cormier spoke about how Grasso and Shevchenko put on an absolute classic, and it would be nice to see them fight again. He said
“Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko put on an absolute classic. Got to run it back. We’ve got to have these two women fight again. I feel like every time we match them up, we’re in line for a tremendous fight between these two.”
Catch Cormier's comments in the video below (8:03):