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Valentina Shevchenko has been a staple atop the women’s Flyweight division for years, holding the belt since 2018 and through seven title defenses. All that ended when Alexa Grasso took advantage of a sloppy spinning kick to take her back and tap her out with a face crank at UFC 285 (see how tight that was here).
Many fans and analysts blamed the spinning kick for the defeat. And when one particular move ends up costing a fighter a deadly position like that it makes sense. Over the years, Shevchenko had shown a propensity for throwing it ... and Grasso was ready for it when she did.
But, Shevchenko doesn’t really blame the kick. It’s a good kick, she said on The MMA Hour, a strong kick. Instead, she puts some of the blame on referee, Jason Herzog. The highly regarded official was in the cage for her last two fights, and there were moments in both that took her focus away from kicking ass.
“Before right now, I never thought about this, but it’s very clear in my mind, a few actions that the referee did in the fight, I completely don’t understand why he did that,” Shevchenko said (via MMA Fighting). “Because he was refereeing my two last fights, and first fight, with Taila [Santos] in Singapore, I thought it could be the situation or something like this, but there was a combination where I strike and ended the combination with a head kick, and I felt Taila [got hurt] and I wanted to finish the fight, but he stopped the fight and he let her breathe. I was like, ‘OK, this doesn’t sound right, but maybe it was just the situation.’
“But in this fight, we were on the ground position, I was in her guard and landing big shots over her, and he just decided to stand us up and continue the striking,” she continued. “It’s kind of the same situation where I say it could affect the fighter, what they do to take their opponent down. They spend so much energy to [score a] takedown first, and second to hold them down, and when you [get a takedown] you definitely want to use the situation because you spend so much energy.
“And when it was decided, ‘Oh no, in my opinion you don’t have to be there, you have to fight in the stand-up,’ it’s kind of working against you because it affects your performance, because you have to build the situation all over again.
“It could be a [combination] of all these little situations together, that’s why it happened, what happened at the end,” Shevchenko concluded. “This action is hard to understand for me why it was when it was, because when I watch the fight, it’s not my fault that Alexa couldn’t go out from that position, because I was holding her very tight, and in the moment I started to land big shots, he just decided to stand us up.
“I don’t know,” she finished. “That’s why I’m saying: for me, it looks kind of surprising. Because yeah, this is my gameplan and I want to keep this game plan, but someone says , ‘No, I don’t think it’s your gameplan, you have to go up and stand,’ this kind of looks differently.”
So, was Herzog unfairly affecting Shevchenko’s performance in her last two fights, intentionally or unintentionally? In the first fight against Santos, Herzog stopped the action after her head kick because “Bullet” had just landed a groin shot as well. Against Grasso, he stood up Shevchenko after the Kyrgyzstani fighter hadn’t improved position for two minutes.
So, it’s a matter of debate as to whether he was a bit quick to stand up Shevchenko and Grasso, one that Shevchenko clearly sees one way. Also seemingly up for debate: whether we’ll finally see a women’s Flyweight championship fight without Valentina for the first time in five years.
Shevchenko clearly wants an immediate rematch and certainly deserves one given her years of dominance, right up to the moment Grasso caught her out of position. But, UFC President, Dana White, has been just a little squirrelly about confirming UFC’s plans for the 125-pound division.
“I hope UFC will come and schedule the fight very soon,” Shevchenko said. “I’m not expecting the fight itself very soon, but I’m hoping it will be scheduled soon. Then I will have a date and it will be a goal, and I will slowly and surely start my way to come back.”
It’s a good thing Grasso agrees.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 285: “Jones vs. Gane” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Valentina Shevchenko has been a staple atop the women’s Flyweight division for years, holding the belt since 2018 and through seven title defenses. All that ended when Alexa Grasso took advantage of a sloppy spinning kick to take her back and tap her out with a face crank at UFC 285 (see how tight that was here).
Many fans and analysts blamed the spinning kick for the defeat. And when one particular move ends up costing a fighter a deadly position like that it makes sense. Over the years, Shevchenko had shown a propensity for throwing it ... and Grasso was ready for it when she did.
But, Shevchenko doesn’t really blame the kick. It’s a good kick, she said on The MMA Hour, a strong kick. Instead, she puts some of the blame on referee, Jason Herzog. The highly regarded official was in the cage for her last two fights, and there were moments in both that took her focus away from kicking ass.
“Before right now, I never thought about this, but it’s very clear in my mind, a few actions that the referee did in the fight, I completely don’t understand why he did that,” Shevchenko said (via MMA Fighting). “Because he was refereeing my two last fights, and first fight, with Taila [Santos] in Singapore, I thought it could be the situation or something like this, but there was a combination where I strike and ended the combination with a head kick, and I felt Taila [got hurt] and I wanted to finish the fight, but he stopped the fight and he let her breathe. I was like, ‘OK, this doesn’t sound right, but maybe it was just the situation.’
“But in this fight, we were on the ground position, I was in her guard and landing big shots over her, and he just decided to stand us up and continue the striking,” she continued. “It’s kind of the same situation where I say it could affect the fighter, what they do to take their opponent down. They spend so much energy to [score a] takedown first, and second to hold them down, and when you [get a takedown] you definitely want to use the situation because you spend so much energy.
“And when it was decided, ‘Oh no, in my opinion you don’t have to be there, you have to fight in the stand-up,’ it’s kind of working against you because it affects your performance, because you have to build the situation all over again.
“It could be a [combination] of all these little situations together, that’s why it happened, what happened at the end,” Shevchenko concluded. “This action is hard to understand for me why it was when it was, because when I watch the fight, it’s not my fault that Alexa couldn’t go out from that position, because I was holding her very tight, and in the moment I started to land big shots, he just decided to stand us up.
“I don’t know,” she finished. “That’s why I’m saying: for me, it looks kind of surprising. Because yeah, this is my gameplan and I want to keep this game plan, but someone says , ‘No, I don’t think it’s your gameplan, you have to go up and stand,’ this kind of looks differently.”
So, was Herzog unfairly affecting Shevchenko’s performance in her last two fights, intentionally or unintentionally? In the first fight against Santos, Herzog stopped the action after her head kick because “Bullet” had just landed a groin shot as well. Against Grasso, he stood up Shevchenko after the Kyrgyzstani fighter hadn’t improved position for two minutes.
So, it’s a matter of debate as to whether he was a bit quick to stand up Shevchenko and Grasso, one that Shevchenko clearly sees one way. Also seemingly up for debate: whether we’ll finally see a women’s Flyweight championship fight without Valentina for the first time in five years.
Shevchenko clearly wants an immediate rematch and certainly deserves one given her years of dominance, right up to the moment Grasso caught her out of position. But, UFC President, Dana White, has been just a little squirrelly about confirming UFC’s plans for the 125-pound division.
“I hope UFC will come and schedule the fight very soon,” Shevchenko said. “I’m not expecting the fight itself very soon, but I’m hoping it will be scheduled soon. Then I will have a date and it will be a goal, and I will slowly and surely start my way to come back.”
It’s a good thing Grasso agrees.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 285: “Jones vs. Gane” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Click here to view the article.
Many fans and analysts blamed the spinning kick for the defeat. And when one particular move ends up costing a fighter a deadly position like that it makes sense. Over the years, Shevchenko had shown a propensity for throwing it ... and Grasso was ready for it when she did.
But, Shevchenko doesn’t really blame the kick. It’s a good kick, she said on The MMA Hour, a strong kick. Instead, she puts some of the blame on referee, Jason Herzog. The highly regarded official was in the cage for her last two fights, and there were moments in both that took her focus away from kicking ass.
“Before right now, I never thought about this, but it’s very clear in my mind, a few actions that the referee did in the fight, I completely don’t understand why he did that,” Shevchenko said (via MMA Fighting). “Because he was refereeing my two last fights, and first fight, with Taila [Santos] in Singapore, I thought it could be the situation or something like this, but there was a combination where I strike and ended the combination with a head kick, and I felt Taila [got hurt] and I wanted to finish the fight, but he stopped the fight and he let her breathe. I was like, ‘OK, this doesn’t sound right, but maybe it was just the situation.’
“But in this fight, we were on the ground position, I was in her guard and landing big shots over her, and he just decided to stand us up and continue the striking,” she continued. “It’s kind of the same situation where I say it could affect the fighter, what they do to take their opponent down. They spend so much energy to [score a] takedown first, and second to hold them down, and when you [get a takedown] you definitely want to use the situation because you spend so much energy.
“And when it was decided, ‘Oh no, in my opinion you don’t have to be there, you have to fight in the stand-up,’ it’s kind of working against you because it affects your performance, because you have to build the situation all over again.
“It could be a [combination] of all these little situations together, that’s why it happened, what happened at the end,” Shevchenko concluded. “This action is hard to understand for me why it was when it was, because when I watch the fight, it’s not my fault that Alexa couldn’t go out from that position, because I was holding her very tight, and in the moment I started to land big shots, he just decided to stand us up.
“I don’t know,” she finished. “That’s why I’m saying: for me, it looks kind of surprising. Because yeah, this is my gameplan and I want to keep this game plan, but someone says , ‘No, I don’t think it’s your gameplan, you have to go up and stand,’ this kind of looks differently.”
So, was Herzog unfairly affecting Shevchenko’s performance in her last two fights, intentionally or unintentionally? In the first fight against Santos, Herzog stopped the action after her head kick because “Bullet” had just landed a groin shot as well. Against Grasso, he stood up Shevchenko after the Kyrgyzstani fighter hadn’t improved position for two minutes.
So, it’s a matter of debate as to whether he was a bit quick to stand up Shevchenko and Grasso, one that Shevchenko clearly sees one way. Also seemingly up for debate: whether we’ll finally see a women’s Flyweight championship fight without Valentina for the first time in five years.
Shevchenko clearly wants an immediate rematch and certainly deserves one given her years of dominance, right up to the moment Grasso caught her out of position. But, UFC President, Dana White, has been just a little squirrelly about confirming UFC’s plans for the 125-pound division.
“I hope UFC will come and schedule the fight very soon,” Shevchenko said. “I’m not expecting the fight itself very soon, but I’m hoping it will be scheduled soon. Then I will have a date and it will be a goal, and I will slowly and surely start my way to come back.”
It’s a good thing Grasso agrees.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 285: “Jones vs. Gane” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Valentina Shevchenko has been a staple atop the women’s Flyweight division for years, holding the belt since 2018 and through seven title defenses. All that ended when Alexa Grasso took advantage of a sloppy spinning kick to take her back and tap her out with a face crank at UFC 285 (see how tight that was here).
Many fans and analysts blamed the spinning kick for the defeat. And when one particular move ends up costing a fighter a deadly position like that it makes sense. Over the years, Shevchenko had shown a propensity for throwing it ... and Grasso was ready for it when she did.
But, Shevchenko doesn’t really blame the kick. It’s a good kick, she said on The MMA Hour, a strong kick. Instead, she puts some of the blame on referee, Jason Herzog. The highly regarded official was in the cage for her last two fights, and there were moments in both that took her focus away from kicking ass.
“Before right now, I never thought about this, but it’s very clear in my mind, a few actions that the referee did in the fight, I completely don’t understand why he did that,” Shevchenko said (via MMA Fighting). “Because he was refereeing my two last fights, and first fight, with Taila [Santos] in Singapore, I thought it could be the situation or something like this, but there was a combination where I strike and ended the combination with a head kick, and I felt Taila [got hurt] and I wanted to finish the fight, but he stopped the fight and he let her breathe. I was like, ‘OK, this doesn’t sound right, but maybe it was just the situation.’
“But in this fight, we were on the ground position, I was in her guard and landing big shots over her, and he just decided to stand us up and continue the striking,” she continued. “It’s kind of the same situation where I say it could affect the fighter, what they do to take their opponent down. They spend so much energy to [score a] takedown first, and second to hold them down, and when you [get a takedown] you definitely want to use the situation because you spend so much energy.
“And when it was decided, ‘Oh no, in my opinion you don’t have to be there, you have to fight in the stand-up,’ it’s kind of working against you because it affects your performance, because you have to build the situation all over again.
“It could be a [combination] of all these little situations together, that’s why it happened, what happened at the end,” Shevchenko concluded. “This action is hard to understand for me why it was when it was, because when I watch the fight, it’s not my fault that Alexa couldn’t go out from that position, because I was holding her very tight, and in the moment I started to land big shots, he just decided to stand us up.
“I don’t know,” she finished. “That’s why I’m saying: for me, it looks kind of surprising. Because yeah, this is my gameplan and I want to keep this game plan, but someone says , ‘No, I don’t think it’s your gameplan, you have to go up and stand,’ this kind of looks differently.”
So, was Herzog unfairly affecting Shevchenko’s performance in her last two fights, intentionally or unintentionally? In the first fight against Santos, Herzog stopped the action after her head kick because “Bullet” had just landed a groin shot as well. Against Grasso, he stood up Shevchenko after the Kyrgyzstani fighter hadn’t improved position for two minutes.
So, it’s a matter of debate as to whether he was a bit quick to stand up Shevchenko and Grasso, one that Shevchenko clearly sees one way. Also seemingly up for debate: whether we’ll finally see a women’s Flyweight championship fight without Valentina for the first time in five years.
Shevchenko clearly wants an immediate rematch and certainly deserves one given her years of dominance, right up to the moment Grasso caught her out of position. But, UFC President, Dana White, has been just a little squirrelly about confirming UFC’s plans for the 125-pound division.
“I hope UFC will come and schedule the fight very soon,” Shevchenko said. “I’m not expecting the fight itself very soon, but I’m hoping it will be scheduled soon. Then I will have a date and it will be a goal, and I will slowly and surely start my way to come back.”
It’s a good thing Grasso agrees.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 285: “Jones vs. Gane” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Click here to view the article.
