3 keys to victory for Alexa Grasso & Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 306

As a lifelong UFC fan who’s spent countless hours watching every punch and kick, I’m absolutely thrilled about UFC 306! The Mexican Independence Day celebration promises an action-packed event, and I can hardly wait to see our Mexican fighters shine. However, the co-main event is what truly has me on the edge of my seat – a trilogy match between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.

On September 14th, UFC 306 will take place at The Sphere in an exceptional show celebrating Mexican Independence Day. A number of Mexican combatants are set to appear on this card, promising exciting matches. The main event features a bantamweight title bout between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, but the co-main event will write history. In this fight, Alexa Grasso, our current women’s flyweight champion, will challenge Valentina Shevchenko in the inaugural UFC women’s trilogy. Their first encounter at UFC 285 resulted in a fourth-round submission victory for Grasso, while their second bout at Noche UFC ended in a debatable draw. Both fighters have an opportunity to win this trilogy and put an end to their rivalry with strategies for success.

3 keys to victory for Alexa Grasso

1. Defend the takedowns

In the initial bout, Shevchenko managed to bring down Grasso four times in each round, contributing significantly to her victory until Grasso pulled off a surprising submission. However, it could be argued that she might have won the rematch had she continued this dominance. Grasso’s defensive wrestling skills appeared stronger in the second fight, as she was able to extricate herself from bottom positions more effectively than before, but there is still room for improvement. To hold onto her belt, Grasso cannot allow herself to be taken down repeatedly. In this fight, Shevchenko might focus on enhancing her wrestling abilities, potentially becoming more aggressive with submission attempts and ground strikes. If Grasso manages to thwart the takedowns, she could neutralize one of Shevchenko’s key strengths in the game.

2. Keep the pressure

Grasso has demonstrated that she excels when she applies pressure on Shevchenko, which, coupled with her strong boxing, creates a strategy that often makes Shevchenko feel uneasy. Typically, this tactic can make wrestlers hesitant to attempt takedowns, but Shevchenko manages to find success in wrestling when she’s on the backfoot. This unique aspect of their matchup is crucial for Grasso’s first victory. While applying pressure, Grasso must maintain a defensive posture, being mindful of both wrestling and striking techniques. Shevchenko is skilled at counter-attacking from the backfoot, employing moves like counter-punching or various kicks.

3. Find the knockout blows

At the UFC’s Noche event, Grasso made history by being the first UFC fighter to knock down Shevchenko. In the second round, as they traded blows in a close quarters fight, she knocked Shevchenko down with a solid right punch. Although Shevchenko quickly regained her footing, that was one of her more exposed moments during her career. She has only been stopped once before, which was against Liz Carmouche back in September 2010, well before her UFC tenure. With Grasso’s powerful punches already causing trouble for Shevchenko in their initial bout and the knockdown occurring in their rematch, there’s a strong chance that she can land the finishing blows in the upcoming trilogy. Given her impressive boxing skills, Grasso may finally put an end to this rivalry by stopping Shevchenko.

3 keys to victory for Valentina Shevchenko

1. Do more with the takedowns

Shevchenko is an exceptional wrestler, boasting the most takedowns in UFC women’s flyweight history with 39. She’s strong and has powerful elbow strikes when she’s on top, but she could improve by searching for more ground strikes and submission attempts against Grasso. This is because, during their previous fights, although Shevchenko managed to take Grasso down, she didn’t cause much damage while on top and rarely tried for submissions. If Shevchenko can work on these aspects, she has a good chance of winning the fight, either by securing a finish or by accumulating points with damaging strikes, which could impress the judges.

2. Continue the striking success from the rematch

In our initial bout, I found myself dominating most of the stand-up battles, but it was on the ground where my opponent emerged victorious. For the rematch, she stepped up her striking game significantly, outclassing me in many exchanges. It seemed like she masterfully exploited the high, boxing stance I prefer to use, landing precise jabs and effective hooks that managed to slip past my defense. If she continues to display such striking finesse and moves around the Octagon effectively, it could become quite challenging for me to keep up the pressure and track her down.

3. Use more leg kicks

This is an underrated key that many people likely are not mentioning that Shevchenko can use. Grasso has a boxing style of striking, meaning she stands heavy on her front leg. That leaves her front leg open to many leg kicks, and that is an adjustment Shevchenko could make that is different from the first two fights. If Shevchenko can batter Grasso’s front leg, that can give her a striking advantage in the stats, as Grasso’s movement is also hindered. If the movement is hindered, Grasso could overextend and leave openings for counter-attacks from Shevchenko. That could also make takedowns easier for Shevchenko.

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2024-09-12 16:13