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Noche UFC pre-event facts: Can Alexa Grasso overcome Valentina Shevchenko’s greatness – again?

The first Noche UFC in history is set to take place Saturday with the Mexican Independence Day fight card slated to go down at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and stream on ESPN+.

An anticipated championship rematch will serve as the main event. After pulling off a stunning upset in March, women’s flyweight titleholder Alexa Grasso (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will attempt to prove her submission victory over Valentina Shevchenko (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) was no fluke when they run it back for the belt.

For more on the numbers behind the title fight, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Noche UFC.

* * * *

Alexa Grasso

Alexa Grasso

Grasso is the only Mexican female champion in UFC history.

Grasso is one of three women’s flyweight champions in UFC history. Shevchenko and Nicco Montano also accomplished the feat.

Grasso is 5-0 since she moved up to the UFC women’s flyweight division in August 2020.

Grasso’s five-fight UFC winning streak in women’s flyweight competition is tied for the third-longest active streak in the division behind Manon Fiorot (six) and Erin Blanchfield (six).

Grasso has earned six of her eight UFC victories by decision.

Valentina Shevchenko

Valentina Shevchenko

Shevchenko is one of three women’s flyweight champions in UFC history. Grasso and Montano also accomplished the feat.

Shevchenko is 9-1 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in February 2018.

Shevchenko’s nine victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied with Katlyn Chookagian for most in divisional history.

Shevchenko’s five stoppage victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are second-most in divisional history behind Gillian Robertson (seven).

Shevchenko’s four knockout victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are most in divisional history.

Shevchenko is one of nine fighters in history to end a UFC title fight with a knockout stemming from a head kick. She accomplished the feat at UFC 238.

Shevchenko lands 56.9 percent of her significant strike attempts in UFC women’s flyweight competition, the best accuracy rate in divisional history.

Shevchenko is the only fighter in UFC history to earn multiple knockouts stemming from the crucifix position. She accomplished the feat at UFC 247 and UFC 261.

Shevchenko has completed at least one takedown in 14 of her 15 UFC appearances.

Shevchenko’s 35 takedowns landed in UFC women’s flyweight competition are most in divisional history.

Shevchenko lands 70 percent of her takedown attempts in UFC women’s flyweight competition, the second-best rate in divisional history behind Taila Santos (75 percent).

Shevchenko’s two fight-night bonuses for UFC women’s flyweight bouts are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Molly McCann (three).

Kevin Holland

Kevin Holland

Kevin Holland (25-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) is 4-1 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in March 2022.

Holland has earned 21 of his 25 career victories by stoppage.

Holland’s 21-day turnaround between UFC main events (UFC on ESPN 21 and UFC on ABC 2) is tied with Deiveson Figueiredo (UFC 255 and UFC 256) for the shortest span in company history.

Holland is one of three fighters in UFC history to go 5-0 in a calendar year. Roger Huerta (2007) and Neil Magny (2014) also accomplished the feat, but Holland did it the fastest at 210 days.

Jack Della Maddalena

Jack Della Maddalena

Jack Della Maddalena (15-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is on a 15-fight winning streak after starting his career 0-2.

Della Maddalena’s five-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Ian Machado Garry (six).

Della Maddalena’s average fight time of 5:14 in UFC welterweight competition is the shortest among active fighters in the weight class.

Della Maddalena lands 7.31 significant strikes per minute in UFC welterweight competition, the second-highest rate in divisional history behind Daniel Rodriguez (7.55).

Della Maddalena has been awarded with a fight-night bonus in four consecutive bouts.

Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Terrence Mitchell

Raul Rosas Jr.

Raul Rosas Jr. (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), at 18, became the youngest fighter in history to earn an octagon victory when he won at UFC 282.

Rosas Jr. has earned six of his seven career victories by stoppage.

Daniel Zellhuber vs. Christos Giagos

Christos Giagos

Christos Giagos (20-10 MMA, 6-6 UFC) is 5-4 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2018.

Loopy Godinez vs. Elise Reed

Loopy Godinez

Loopy Godinez (10-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) holds the modern-era record for shortest time between three UFC appearances at 42 days. She competed on Oct. 9, Oct. 16 and Nov. 20 of 2021.

Elise Reed (7-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over her past seven fights dating back to May 2021. She lost her most recent bout at UFC on ESPN 46 in June.

Roman Kopylov vs. Josh Fremd

Roman Kopylov

Roman Kopylov (11-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has earned all 10 of his career stoppage victories by knockout.

Kopylov’s three-fight knockout streak in UFC competition is second-longest among active fighters in the company behind Sergei Pavlovich (six).

Kopylov defends 90 percent of opponent takedown attempts in UFC middleweight competition, the third-highest rate in divisional history behind Chris Curtis (92.3 percent) and Jamie Picket (90.5 percent).

Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda

Daniel Lacerda

Daniel Lacerda’s (11-5 MMA, 0-4 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since July 2021.

Tracy Cortez vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius

Tracy Cortez

Tracy Cortez (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is 2-0 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in April 2021.

Cortez has earned seven of her nine career victories by decision. That includes all four of her UFC wins.

Alex Reyes vs. Charlie Campbell

Alex Reyes

Alex Reyes (12-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Sept. 16, 2017. The 2,180-day layoff is the longest of his 13-year career.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.

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