Shevchenko dominates Grasso to reclaim UFC flyweight belt

Valentina Shevchenko defeated Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) in their trilogy bout to recapture the UFC women's flyweight championship Saturday night.

With the victory, Shevchenko became the first two-time titleholder in women's 125-pound history.

The fight served as the UFC 306 co-main event at Sphere in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view card was held to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, and Grasso entered the event as the promotion's only Mexican-born titleholder.

Shevchenko lost the belt to Grasso via fourth-round submission in March 2023 and failed to regain the throne when their September 2023 rematch ended in a split draw.

Shevchenko relied on her grappling to cruise past Grasso, securing eight takedowns across five rounds. "Bullet" also outlanded Grasso 45-18 in significant strikes, all but shutting down the former champion's offense.

Grasso attempted a few submissions off her back, including a tight guillotine in the fourth round. But Shevchenko fended them off and continued to dominate the fight.

Shevchenko, one of the greatest women's fighters in MMA history, earned her first victory since a June 2022 title defense against Taila Santos. Shevchenko originally captured the flyweight title in December 2018 and successfully defended it seven times during her first reign.

Grasso's six-fight unbeaten streak ended with her first loss since September 2019.