At this point, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko may as well be best friends.
The two top flyweights continue to make the media rounds ahead of their starring roles as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 32. On Friday, that promotional tour took them to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland to sit courtside for the NCAA Women’s Final Four tournament, where they’ll watch basketball superstar Caitlin Clark try to lead her Iowa Hawkeyes to a win against the Connecticut Huskies. Ahead of the game, Grasso and Shevchenko shared a friendly faceoff, which can be watched below.
Grasso (16-3-1) remains the UFC women’s flyweight champion after capturing the belt with a stunning fourth-round submission of Shevchenko in March 2023. Grasso retained her belt in the rematch this past September, gutting out a controversial split draw at Noche UFC.
Shevchenko (23-4-1) was the division’s long-reigning queen prior to her stumble against Grasso. “Bullet” racked up a division-record seven consecutive title defense during her time on the throne, defeating the likes of Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jessica Andrade, Liz Carmouche, Taila Santos, and more.
Grasso and Shevchenko are expected to compete in a trilogy bout sometime later this year following the airing of TUF 32, which is set to kick off in June.