“The Judges Felt Pressured to…” – Burning Accusations by Valentina Shevchenko After Controversial Split Draw Gets a Stamp of Legitimacy From UFC HOF’er

The bout between flyweights Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso at UFC Noche took an unexpected twist. ‘Bullet’ and the Mexican fighter clashed once again, following their electrifying initial face-off to find out the best fighter between the two. At UFC Fight Night 227, both these fighters delivered peak performances, and the judges found it difficult to determine a winner. The bout ended in a split draw, and Grasso retained her flyweight belt.

The Mexican fighter became the flyweight champion for the first after defeating ‘Bullet’ at UFC 285. Back then, many were taken aback after watching the spectacular performance of the 30-year-old. Contrary to the expectation of the fight fans, Grasso managed to submit ‘Bullet’ in the fourth round of the bout. Now, after losing the second opportunity to win back the flyweight strap, Shevchenko believes she was not treated fairly. The Kyrgyzstani fighter has accused the UFC officials, and surprisingly, a UFC Hall of Famer has come out in her support.

UFC Hall of Famer supports Valentina Shevchenko

Soon after her bout with Grasso, Shevchenko sat with the media to discuss her feelings about the fight. She mentioned how she is left with mixed feelings after completing the bout. Undoubtedly, ‘Bullet’ is proud of herself for successfully completing all five rounds. The former UFC flyweight champion fought with all her strength, but things didn’t go as planned. Shevchenko strongly believes that she won three out of the five rounds they fought. She accused the UFC officials of ending the bout in a draw. According to her, they did so because it was Mexican Independence Day, and they wanted to make the crowd happy. UFC veteran Michael Bisping felt that Shevchenko was making total sense.

Michael Bisping said on his YouTube Channel, “Yeah, well, it’s Mexican Independence Day. Maybe the judges felt pressured to send everybody home happy. Maybe she’s right. Maybe she’s got a point because for my money Shevchenko won round five, but regardless of whether or not it was a 10-9 to Grasso or Shevchenko it was not a 10-8.” He also added that ‘Bullet’ deserves a rematch, as this fight doesn’t seem to be fair. According to ‘The Count’, Shevchenko won the fifth round, and she deserved to win.

‘Bullet’ faced a severe injury

Shortly after the clash, the 35-year-old confessed that her performance was affected due to an injury suffered in the opening round. Soon after the bout began, ‘Bullet’ fractured her thumb and was not even able to move her finger. This caused her significant discomfort, and there was a moment where she doubted whether to keep fighting or not.

READ MORE: 5 Months After Losing Her Title, Valentina Shevchenko Lays Bare Her Emotions Ahead of Alexa Grasso Rematch

However, she decided not to disappoint the fight fans who patiently waited for the rematch between the two. Shevchenko pointed out how she fought the bout brilliantly, even after facing a severe injury. At one point, she even trapped Grasso in a guillotine choke, but she managed to escape from Valentina’s hold. Do you think that Shevchenko deserved to win the bout? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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