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Glendale \u2014 Former women\u2019s flyweight champ Alexa Grasso put on a surprisingly dominant, in-your-face performance against Manon Fiorot at Noche UFC on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Grasso (18-5-1), who launched the Noche UFC series in 2023 against Valentina Shevchenko and returned the following year, came out hot in the fight, and knocked Fiorot down in the opening frame. That left the French contender fighting from behind for the rest of the fight, with Grasso earning a unanimous decision nod in the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cI prepared very well. I trust in my team, everything we did, the strategy. And it worked,\u201d Grasso told Cageside Press following the fight. \u201cWhen everything is perfect, you just feel super-confident in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shevchenko, who Grasso had a trilogy with, is no longer champ at 125lbs. She\u2019s vacated her title due to injury, with Natalia Silva vs. Wang Cong set to crown a new champion next month. Rest assured, Grasso will have her eye on the fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be watching of course. It\u2019s an important fight in my weight class,\u201d she stated, adding \u201cbut you know, I always keep training, I trust in my work, and when the time comes, I\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully yes\u201d was Grasso\u2019s answer when asked if she perhaps put her name on the short list of contenders who could face the winner of Silva vs. Cong. Fiorot, ahead of Saturday\u2019s Noche UFC, had revealed that the UFC had told her the fight was a title eliminator, though it was not officially billed as such.<\/p>\n
Alexa Grasso also touched on the state of Mexican MMA, saying \u201cit\u2019s great. Everything we\u2019re doing is just showing\u2014 you can see, this card. I thought it [Noche UFC] was just going to be one year, but it ended up happening the next and the next and the next. And I\u2019m so happy that it keeps being a celebration every single year.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for inspiring other young Mexican fighters, \u201cme, Brandon [Moreno], and other fighters right now, we\u2019re older. It\u2019s a job that has to keep going and going and going. Now you see the new generation of Mexicans, they\u2019re amazing. They\u2019re complete fighters. That\u2019s the goal, to always open more doors.\u201d<\/p>\n