Along with the return of a former champion seeking another title, UFC 285 will have a second championship bout in March.
Women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (23-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) will put her title on the line against challenger Alexa Grasso (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) at the March 4 event T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup with a person with knowledge of the booking after an initial report from UFC broadcast partner ESPN.
Unless another title fight is added, Shevchenko-Grasso will be the co-feature to a main event vacant heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane. UFC 285 will have a main card on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and ESPN+.
Shevchenko, 34, has been lamenting a lack of challengers at 125 pounds, but now she has one. She’ll be gunning for her 10th straight win overall and eighth straight flyweight title defense. She fought just once in 2022 and took a split decision from Taila Santos this past June in a fight many thought she lost. If nothing else, most agreed it was the least dominant she has looked as champion.
Shevchenko won the vacant belt in 2018 against former strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk. She defended it with wins over Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian, Jennifer Maia, Jessica Andrade and Lauren Murphy before her win over Santos. Andrade and Murphy fight each other this week.
Mexico’s Grasso, 29, gets her first crack at a title on the strength of four straight wins, all since she moved to flyweight from strawweight. After a loss to former strawweight champ Carla Esparza, Grasso moved up a division and has beaten Ji Yeon Kim, Maycee Barber, Joanne Wood and, most recently, Viviane Araujo this past October in her first UFC main event.
With the addition, the UFC 285 lineup now includes:
- Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane – for vacant heavyweight title
- Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Alexa Grasso – for women’s flyweight title
- Viviane Araujo vs. Amanda Ribas
- Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett
- Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
- Derek Brunson vs. Dricus Du Plessis
- Julio Arce vs. Cody Garbrandt
- Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Julian Marquez
- Kamuela Kirk vs. Esteban Ribovics
- Farid Basharat vs. Da’Mon Blackshear
- Jessica Penne vs. Tabatha Ricci
- Mario Bautista vs. Guido Cannetti
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.
