LAS VEGAS The UFC has crowned three Mexican
champions in 2023, the biggest of which was at UFC 285 on
Saturday. Alexa Grasso (16-3) shocked the world at UFC
286 when she submitted seven-time flyweight champion
Valentina Shevchenko (23-4) at 4:34 of round four. She
became the 6-to-1 underdog and joined flyweight champion
Brandon Moreno and interim featherweight champion Yasir
Rodriguez as the new Mexican champion of the year.
Grasso, from Guadalajara, Mexico, made his UFC flyweight
debut just five fights ago in August 2020 after years of
competing at strawweight. She had rivaled Shevchenko
from the start, but it was her ability to capitalize on a single
mistake by the eternal champion that made her the new
titleholder. With less than a minute left in the quarter,
Shevchenko landed a rebound that exposed her to Grasso.
Grasso felt the moment of Shevchenko's movement and