UFC star Shevchenko FUMES at judges after split draw with Grasso
UFC star Valentina Shevchenko FUMES at judges after split draw with Alexa Grasso and accuses them of ‘feeling pressure because it’s Mexican Independence Day’
- Alexa Grasso has retained her UFC flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko
- The fight was judged a split draw after scores of 48-47, 47-48 and 48-48
- Shevchenko slammed the judges and claimed she would have won a ‘fair’ fight
Valentina Shevchenko has slammed UFC judges after her rematch with Alexa Grasso resulted in a split draw.
Grasso retained her women’s flyweight championship in the bout after one judge had the score 48-47 in her favour, while the second gave it to Shevchenko and a third scored it 47-47.
The judge who awarded a draw, Mike Bell, had the Kyrgyzstani fighter ahead after four rounds but scored the fifth 10-8 in Grasso’s favour after she trapped her opponent in a rear-naked choke, which was defended.
His fellow judges both scored the final round 10-9 to the Mexican fighter, who won the belt off Shevchenko in her previous fight earlier this year.
After her loss, Shevchenko hit out at the judges’ decision, telling reporters: ‘I think it really was 3-2 on my side.
Alexa Grasso retained her UFC flyweight title in a split draw with Valentina Shevchenko on Saturday night
Both fighters had one judge score the fight in their favour, while a third scored it 47-47
‘But the judges I think felt a little bit of pressure because it’s Mexican Independence Day, that’s why the give one more to the Mexican fighter.’
The event featured numerous Mexican fighters on the undercard and referenced the country’s independence day in promotional material for the fight.
Shevchenko continued: ‘I fought to the end and I think I did enough. In a fair competition, the victory would be mine.’
Losing to Grasso earlier this year was a huge upset for ‘Bullet’, who had won the inaugural women’s UFC flyweight title in 2018 and defended the belt seven times.
Her Mexican opponent disagreed about the judges, saying after the fight: ‘I did a lot of damage. All of my punches were hard and yes, I’m the winner. I think I did enough [to win].’
On the prospect of a third fight between the pair, she said: ‘It depends. I have to talk to my coaches and my manager. Let’s see what’s next.’
Shevhenko has criticised the judges for feeling pressure because it’s Mexican Independence Day’ and claimed she would have won a ‘fair fight’
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