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Alexa Grasso | Every Single Detail
Former Champion Returns With A Plan To Become Champion Once Again
There’s a great photo on Alexa Grasso’s Instagram of her flexing her considerable biceps in front of a scenic landmark in her native Mexico, and the caption reads “Beautiful means: be you to the full.” And as she sat down to talk with us in Seattle this week ahead of Saturday’s rematch with Maycee Barber, it was natural to wonder what “Grasso to the full” means to her. She smiles.
“I've been learning a lot from my age. I’m a 30s-woman right now, you know, and your vision in life, and everything, changes. So right now I'm happy with my training, with my life, with everything I've done. You know, just enjoying everything, like, every single detail. Just put yourself in there and give a show, that's what I do.”
You believe her when she says she’s happy. Her mood is bright, and her vibes are clearly high. But one shouldn’t mistake her happiness for satisfaction.
The first female Mexican champion wore that title proudly throughout 2023 and into 2024 when the fighter she took it from—future Hall of Famer Valentina Shevchenko—finally won it back in their epic trilogy. It was a career arc most MMA athletes will never experience, but Grasso isn’t done, and she wants that experience again.
“I learned a lot from my past mistakes. And I swear to God, I've been working so, so hard to be a contender again, to have the opportunity to face Valentina one more time. She’s The GOAT. She's the champion. She has so done so much for this division. And I think I'm one of the toughest ones to ever face her.”
The list of UFC fighters who have met four times in the Octagon is a short one, but as you speak with Grasso, it quickly becomes evident that the possibility is very much a reality in her mind.
“I don't know how many fights I'm away from the conversation for the title shot. But right now, the most important thing is Saturday against Maycee. And after that, we will see. I mean, of course, I would love to face Valentina one more time.”
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Fight fans would love it, too, but as Grasso mentions, there’s another woman with identical ambitions, and she’ll be standing across from her in the co-main event at Climate Pledge Arena on March 28.
Full Fight | Alexa Grasso vs Maycee Barber 1
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Full Fight | Alexa Grasso vs Maycee Barber 1
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Grasso and Barber first tangled on February 13, 2021 at UFC 258. Looking back at the archives of that evening tells the story of the sports world during a global pandemic: a major pay-per-view was held at the (now) META APEX, eerily void of fan voices. The fighters faced off in facemasks, and social distancing protocols were everywhere you looked. It already feels like a lifetime ago, and the bout itself feels equally distant to Grasso now.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
“I think it’s too far away. We've been changing so much since that fight,” she says. “Of course you can take a few things that we’re both still doing, but we’ve changed a lot. It's a new opportunity test ourselves with different techniques from both sides.”
Grasso was 27 in that first meeting, and her experience and tenacity got her hand raised with unanimous nods on the scorecards that night. Barber was just 22, but even in defeat showed several flashes of elite combat. Indeed, ever since her contract-winning performance on Dana White’s Contender Series at the age of 19, it has always felt like Barber’s aggressive style would lead her to moments like this one, and she rolls into Seattle with the momentum of a seven-fight win streak for the rematch.
RELATED: Barber Interview | Rematch Timeline
“I think she evolved at every area, everything she had hoped,” Grasso agrees. “We both evolved a lot. But that was the fight that I'm always trying to have, because it's important to test yourself in these hard moments. It’s good to face a new Maycee. I’m excited for this.”
It will be the first step on the road back to the title. She defeated The GOAT once and held her off a second time. The world knows she can do it. All that is left is to dig deep and remind herself that she can do it.
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“It’s going to be a tough journey. I know, I’ve done this before. Brandon Moreno taught us that it’s possible to be a two-time champ. That’s the goal right now. Let’s do this.”
UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer took place live from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington on March 28, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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