Alexa Grasso is the new Flyweight Champion after defeating Valentina Shevchenko in the fourth round of their co-main event fight at UFC 285. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS — Valentina Shevchenko’s incredible championship run came to a stunning end at 4:34 a.m. Saturday in the fourth round of UFC 285’s co-main event when she hit Alexa Grasso with a rear naked choke.
Shevchenko tried a spin back kick. Grasso saw it coming, dodged it, and then jumped onto Shevchenko’s back. Grasso quickly engaged the choke and Shevchenko tapped.
It ended her nine-fight winning streak and her eight-fight winning streak for the championship.
Shevchenko’s grappling took over the fight, but she didn’t seem to be as dominant as she was during her reign.
Grasso defended well against them and seemed prepared for whatever Shevchenko tried. She kept working on deflecting the chokehold and it paid off.
“I practiced that every day,” Grasso said of defending against Shevchenko’s spinning back kick. “…I knew she was going to do that spinning kick. I worked so hard on it every day.”
It will go down as one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Shevchenko was ranked No. 2 on the UFC pound-for-pound list and was potentially considering a third fight with pound-for-pound champion Amanda Nunes.
It was all contingent on a win and she couldn’t pull it out. It was her first loss since her loss to Nunes in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on September 9, 2017 at UFC 215.
Since then, she had won nine straight, including eight title fights.
The win was Grasso’s fifth in a row and by far the biggest of her career.