The No. 6 flyweight contender challenges the best fighter the women’s flyweight division has ever seen in Valentina Shevchenko, who’s claimed seven title defenses after winning the vacant belt against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2018.
Since moving up from the strawweight division in 2020, Grasso’s hit a stride, winning all four of her flyweight contests, including an impressive performance over Viviane Araujo in her first UFC main event last October.
“I feel so good right now,” Grasso said. “When I started my career, I was so young, and I was super thin. Every fight camp, you are stronger and stronger and lifting more weight, so I think it was necessary and I found myself in the best shape of my life [at flyweight].
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“Having my first main event was huge. I thought that I upgraded myself on a lot of levels: my mind, my game, my conditioning and my experience, also.
“My last fight against Araujo was the one I felt myself as a better athlete in all aspects. I was able to compete against a jiu-jitsu black belt, which was great. My jiu jitsu is [now] a lot better.”
As she began racking up wins, Grasso looked to other Mexico-born champions to motivate her to elevate her game and reach championship contention. In January, Brandon Moreno defeated Deiveson Figueiredo in their fourth meeting to reclaim his flyweight throne, while just last month, Yair Rodriguez defeated Josh Emmett to claim the interim featherweight title. On Saturday, Grasso hopes to join them as the third current Mexican champion.
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“It’s a big inspiration for me to watch Brandon and Yair winning because I have known them for a long time,” Grasso said. “I remember when we all started in the UFC and now we’re all achieving a lot of things; now we’re having these big opportunities and it just gives me a lot of motivation.”
During her fight week interview with UFC.com, Grasso refrained from discussing any of her gameplan, knowing that she has particular tools that she thinks will surprise Shevchenko once they engage in the Octagon. However, she mentioned that regardless of what happens or where the fight goes, she’ll find the best shots to land on the feet and the best positions on the mat if the fight takes itself there.
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While being the one to physically earn the results inside the Octagon, Grasso was quick to thank her entire coaching staff and fans throughout her journey to this title opportunity. As she makes the all-important walk to the Octagon this weekend, all those supporters will be racing through her mind, providing her last bit of fuel and motivation before the biggest fight of her professional career.
“In my mind, when I’ll be walking to the cage, I’ll be remembering all the moments since I started fighting, all the challenges I had to face, all the training, dieting, cardio I did, and all the people who had been around me, helping me to be [a] better human, better person [and] better athlete. My coaches, they are the most important part of this thing. My teammates, who I know will be cheering for me, and also the [fans] that are supporting me. That’s going to be what I’m going to be thinking about and I just want to make all of them proud.”
