Athletes
Coach Conversation | Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko 2
MMA Coach Eliot Marshall Gives Insight Into The Flyweight Title Rematch Between Alexa Grasso And Valentina Shevchenko.
Ahead of every championship fight, UFC staff writer E. Spencer Kyte will sit down with some of the sharpest coaching minds in the sport to break down the action and provide UFC fans with insights into each championship pairing from the men that spend their days getting these elite athletes prepared to compete on the biggest stage in the sport.
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For Noche UFC, Kyte called upon Eliot Marshall, co-owner and head instructor at Easton Training Center in Denver, Colorado to provide his thoughts on four points heading into the flyweight title fight between new champ Alexa Grasso and former titleholder Valentina Shevchenko.
Best Trait of Each Fighter
Kyte: At a time in the sport where everyone is pretty solid everywhere, generally speaking, what is the one thing that each of these competitors do better than anyone else? What is the one element to their game that stands out the most?
Marshall: Alexa Grasso can stick in there; that’s what I thought we saw in the first fight. She never got overwhelmed by losing, and she was losing.
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Kyte: She stuck in there.
Marshall: She was clearly losing the fight, but she stuck to her game plan really well in that fight. She’s strong, she’s got really good fundamentals, and I think that takes her a really long way. I think what allows her to stick in these fights is that when she has to go back to her basics, her basics are very good.
Noche UFC | September 16, 2023
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Noche UFC | September 16, 2023
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Kyte: I agree on the fundamentals part, and I also think the best thing that happened for her was struggling at 115 pounds — having those moments where she came in as “the next big thing,” but lost her second fight in the UFC.
I think those losses at strawweight, struggling to make the weight at times, not becoming an instant superstar were so good for her because she had to sit down and go “115 isn’t for me, now let me drill down and figure out the things I’m best at and improve those.”
She can “meat and potatoes” anyone. She got to the belt by fundamentals.
Marshall: Straight punches, good in the clinch, solid ground — that’s all it is. You know what’s coming.
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Kyte: Beat Vivi Araujo who is a better athlete…
Marshall: Way better! Way better — stronger, quicker; everything!
Kyte: And beat her by saying, “While you’re bouncing on the outside, I’m gonna stick this jab and this right hand in your face, over and over and over again, and I think all of that comes from the struggles at 115 and having to sort it out.
Marshall: Sometimes quick fame sucks.
Kyte: What’s the best trait of Valentina Shevchenko?
Alexa Grasso's MMA Arsenal | Noche UFC
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Marshall: She’s the best in the world; she just is. She’s better than Alexa Grasso — I think we were on our way to seeing that.
She’s very sound, she’s the best in the world at 125. We saw her compete against Amanda at 135. Other than one bad fight against Julianna Pena, Nunes was very unstoppable as the champ, and the only close fight she had was against Val.
Shevchenko has solid skills everywhere, much like Alexa Grasso.
Kyte: It’s a different base, but the fundamentals are so solid.
Path to Victory for Each Fighter
Kyte: Everyone would love a 10-second knockout or a quick submission, but that’s not often how these things go, especially not at the championship level. Instead, it’s usually the competitor that has crafted the better game plan and did the better job of executing things inside the Octagon that comes away with their hand raised and the gold around their waist.
So, how does either fighter get it done on Saturday night?
Marshall: I think Alexa has got to grapple. I think Alexa has got to be on top and grappling, more specifically.
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Kyte: Yeah, she’s not going to sweep, she’s not going to do damage off her back with elbows…
Marshall: Right. Valentina is a slow starter at times, and I think that was the first round last time — just greater activity — so we might se Alexa win the first round again, but I think Alexa has got to get on top.
Kyte: And for Valentina?
Marshall: There are two things for Val: what’s her head like after losing like that?, and then don’t throw a spinning back kick.
Actually, let me clarify that: don’t throw a spinning back kick while on the fence; how about that? The fence had a lot to do with it because she had no exits.
Kyte: Right — she’s turning and Grasso can drive her forward into the fence.
Marshall: She likes the spinning back kick, but it’s got to be in space, where you have motion and room.
X Factor
Kyte: If there were one thing that was going to significantly impact how this fight plays out — that swings it in one direction or the other — what would it be?
Marshall: The X-factor is all Valentina Shevchenko and her mental status.
Kyte: Where is she at? What did that loss do?
Marshall: Yeah, and when you look at it, I think the Kamaru Usman loss had a little more to do with the big knockout of it, but he didn’t look like the same Kamaru Usman when he came back and fought Leon (Edwards) the second time, and maybe that was because of the trauma of it.
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Valentina doesn’t have any trauma, but she did get stopped. When your aura of invincibility goes away, how do you respond?
Amanda Nunes answered it. We said the same thing with Amanda when she fought Julianna the second time — what does she have left, because they just don’t have a lot to prove.
Kyte: And, to me, I look at what’s the part of that defeat that now drives you?
Marshall: Ego and pride; that’s what it always is. Ego and pride.
Kyte: Sure, but can you quiet them enough to just go out and be the competitor? Ego and pride are always a part of it — they’re always connected to this game, and it’s what keeps you going once you’ve achieved things, makes it hard to walk away — but in this moment, can you set them aside and focus solely on the mission?
Marshall: We’ll see. She’s also 35 years old and that catches up with everyone, and you don’t know when the odometer ticks to the one mile that was “Nope — that’s too much!” and now your engine goes, this goes, that goes.
One Coaching Curiosity
Kyte: Coaches see the sport differently and look at the sport differently than anyone else, picking up on different things and paying attention to movements, habits, or intangible pieces that others might not notice, but that could have a significant impact on the action inside the Octagon.
Every matchup offers its own unique collection of elements that might pique a coach’s interest and get them paying a little closer attention to once the fight gets underway.
So what is that one thing in this matchup?
VIEW THE ATHLETE PROFILES: Alexa Grasso | Valentina Shevchenko
Marshall: I wanna know how good Alexa is. I wanna see if Alexa is good enough to keep it close and capitalize on a mistake?
Kyte: I wanna see what changes with her as the champion.
Marshall: Oooh, that’s a good point too — a lot more media, a lot more things you gotta do.
Kyte: So you’re the hunted now, and we talk about that all the time, right? It’s one thing when you’re on the climb and you’re pushing.
I don’t think she’s somebody that is going to let off, but there has been a lot of media this year about Mexican champions — Brandon got his, she got hers, Yair got his, coming into Vancouver it was “we could have a fourth with Irene (Aldana),” and she froze, Brandon lost, Yair lost, and now she’s the only one left.
I think she comes out and tries to dictate. Like you said earlier, Val is a little bit of a slow starter — come out and get the jab going, get the low kicks going, mix in a takedown here and there, see what I can do.
Marshall: If she can dominantly win the first round, that will change everything; rather than have it be close. If she can go out there and be like, “I won that! You’re dealing with a different beast right now!” that’ll be interesting.
Kyte: She’s gotta go out there and show that March solidified everything she always thought about herself and now she’s a different animal.
UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs Shevchenko 2 took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 16, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
