From the plans for the Riyadh Season Noche UFC to the insights into the fighters’ lives, UFC 306 has been building intrigue amongst the fight fans ever since it was announced. With some insights through the previews of the event, the MMA promotion took the excitement a few notches higher. Needless to say, the contenders also made unknown revelations in the video.

One such revelation came forth when the women’s flyweight champion revealed why she took up fighting as a career and how Ronda Rousey influenced it. And it’s this inspiration that she is going to take into the Sphere and fight the one coaching against her at TUF 32. 

Alexa Grasso names Ronda Rousey as the inspiration for taking on Valentina Shevchenko

Hailing from Guadalajara, Alexa Grasso entered the world of martial arts at the early age of 14. It was indeed her paternal uncle, Francisco ‘Pancho’ Grasso, who took charge of training her to become the champion she is today. But it was her father who inspired her to take on fighting as a career. Initially, she did it just to help her family. But her views changed when she witnessed Rousey defeat Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 and wear the bantamweight championship belt.

During her promo for UFC 306, Grasso said, “My biggest goal when I started competing was to have a better life for me and my family. And then I saw Ronda Rousey, the first female champion in the UFC. And it was the first time that a lot of women realized that was huge. You can do a lot in this sport.” 

But the Mexican mixed martial artist always had her eyes fixed on fighting Valentina Shevchenko. ‘Bullet’ was on a 9-fight win streak, with 7 successful title defenses, before she faced the Mexican phenom at UFC 285. Little did the former women’s bantamweight champ know that Grasso was preparing for this fight since the very beginning. The 31-year-old continued, “When I came to the flyweight division, always the goal was Valentina because she was so dominant, she was so strong. So, when I had the opportunity, we were ready, and we take it.”

But Grasso’s unexpected confession has put the fighting community into speculation mode as they wonder if the flyweight champion would ever follow her inspiration to WWE. Well, this was indeed a question that Grasso had already answered.

Will Grasso follow ‘Rowdy’ to WWE?

A couple of years ago, Grasso appeared in an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports. Therein, the Mexican phenom was asked if she would ever trace Rousey’s footsteps into the realm of wrestling. The UFC star replied, “I’m not a big big fan, I don’t usually watch it… I’m Mexican, and it’s not in my culture, you know, like too much.” 

However, Grasso admitted that she would indeed consider getting into World Wrestling Entertainment on one condition. And it all pointed at an attractive business proposal. She continued, “We don’t usually watch a lot of that, but if there’s an opportunity for me and it’s a good business proposal, of course, I will try it. Why not?”

Did you already know about Grasso’s inspiration? Do you think she’ll be able to impress Rousey in her upcoming fight against Shevchenko? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.