Michael Bisping thinks Alexa Grasso will stay champion.
Despite being ahead on the scorecards in the first fight and having the most dominant title reign seen in the UFC women’s flyweight division, Bisping doesn’t favor Valentina Shevchenko in her upcoming rematch against Grasso.
Grasso submitted Shevchenko in February at UFC 285 in one of the biggest upsets of 2023 so far. The two are set for a rematch Sept. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Bisping sees Grasso retaining the belt.
“It might sound crazy, but I think Alexa is the better fighter,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “That doesn’t sound crazy to me at all. I thought Alexa looked really good. I think that Valentina Shevchenko has been a dominant force for so long, but everyone has their time. Everyone has their end. Everyone has their beginning of the end.
“Is this the beginning of the end of Shevchenko? Are her best days behind her? I don’t know – maybe. Maybe she had an off night. Maybe Alexa Grasso is just a better fighter. I thought she looked very well. It certainly wasn’t a fluke.”
Grasso ended a record-setting run for Shevchenko. “Bullet” has the most consecutive title defenses in a single weight class in UFC women’s history. She was looking to extend that record, but Grasso had other plans.
Bisping is not counting out Shevchenko entirely in the rematch, but believes adjustments need to be made.
“I’m a fan of Valentina, so this is not an insult, she (was) a dominant champion, and sometimes you start getting into the mind set, like George St-Pierre, that you get too passive in the fight, maybe a bit too defensive,” Bispong said. “She needs to go back to being that hungry killer. She needs to go forward and be the aggressor, as opposed to trying to counter all the time. But who am I to sit here and critique Shevchenko with the career she’s had.”
