Alexa Grasso knows she’s not too far from UFC gold.
The UFC women’s flyweight contender feels she doesn’t have many fights left before the organization comes calling with an opportunity to fight for the championship belt. Grasso (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) is coming off a first-round submission win over veteran Joanne Wood in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 33 last month in Columbus, Ohio.
The victory over Wood kept Grasso undefeated at 125 pounds, as she’s now on a three-fight winning streak since moving up from strawweight in 2020.
The Mexican fighter would like to face former title challenger Jennifer Maia, as she’s the rival who’s given champion Valentina Shevchenko her toughest title defense.
“There’s so many fights that I’d like, but the one that has given the most fight and trouble to Valentina is Jennifer Maia,” Grasso told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “With all respect, I’d like to fight with her.
“Maybe in her last fight she didn’t do that well, we fought that same night, but let’s also remember she took the fight on short notice against someone who had two, well-trained camps. And I thought she did very well it’s just her conditioning didn’t help her. She only had three weeks of preparation and she was up against someone who had like 12 or 15 weeks training. So of course it was a factor.
“For me, I’d love to fight her. She was an Invicta FC champion, she’s very skilled, she’s a black belt. And like I’m saying, she gave the champion her toughest fight. That would be a fight I’d like a lot.”
Maia is coming off a unanimous decision loss to rising contender Manon Fiorot. It was a fight she took on a couple weeks’ notice.
Shevchenko has yet to taste defeat in the UFC at 125 pounds. She currently has six title defenses under her belt and is scheduled to attempt at a 7th at UFC 275 on June 11 against Taila Santos.
Unless there’s an upset by the challenger, Grasso feels she’s up next given the landscape of the division.”
“From what I’ve seen at flyweight, all challengers had four consecutive fights, so I’m assuming they’re going to want me to have four straight wins,” Grasso said. “So maybe it’s just one more fight. All the top girls have already fought her. We’re only missing her upcoming opponent and then it’s me.”
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