UFC Fight Night 227: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 Odds, Schedule, Predictions
The rare UFC Fight Night championship bout headlines UFC Fight Night 227—or Noche UFC—with Valentina Shevchenko seeking revenge and the women's flyweight title against Alexa Grasso at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Grasso pulled off a stunning upset win over Shevchenko in March at UFC 285. Now she'll have the opportunity to prove that win was no fluke.
It's the first loss that Shevchenko has suffered since September 2017 when she dropped a split decision to Amanda Nunes.
The co-main event features a fun welterweight fight between Kevin Holland and Jack Della Maddalena. Here's a look at the complete lineup with odds and a preview of the featured bouts.
Fight Card, Schedule and Odds
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Main Card (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Alexa Grasso (+145) vs. Valentina Shevchenko (+145) – for women's flyweight title
- Jack Della Maddalena (-142) vs. Kevin Holland (+120)
- Terrence Mitchell (+550) vs. Raul Rosas Jr. (-800)
- Christos Giagos (+240) vs. Daniel Zellhuber (-298)
- Kyle Nelson (+205) vs. Fernando Padilla (-250)
Prelims (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
- Loopy Godinez (-380) vs. Elise Reed (+300)
- Josh Fremd (+260) vs. Roman Kopylov (-325)
- Edgar Chairez (-218) vs. Daniel Lacerda (+180)
- Tracy Cortez (-135) vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius (+110)
- Charlie Campbell (-520) vs. Alex Reyes (+390)
- Josefine Knutsson (-700) vs. Marnic Mann (+500)
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
Grasso vs. Shevchenko
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Until recently, Valentina Shevchenko appeared to be indestructible. Her incredible win streak featured the best of the best in the flyweight division and she barely lost a round, much less a fight.
That was until Taila Santos came along and Alexa Grasso built on what Santos was able to do. The Brazilian turned her title shot into an all-out war with a mix of takedowns and submission attempts that tested Shevchenko's abilities on the ground.
Grasso was able to take some things from that fight, apply them and finish the job with a rear-naked choke to pull the upset and grab the belt.
The question is whether she'll be able to repeat those steps en route to a successful title defense.
It's not going to be easy. Shevchenko may be losing her fastball, but she's still an incredible striker and a cerebral tactician.
The problem for Grasso is she didn't show that she could take down Shevchenko in the first fight. Bullet had all four takedowns in the bout and Grasso happened to land the submission that won the fight.
Had Shevchenko simply kept the fight on the feet, she seemed to be on her way to winning on points. Don't expect her to make the same mistake.
Prediction: Shevchenko via decision
Holland vs. Della Maddalena
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Jack Della Maddalena has slugged his way into a fairly big spot here. His bout with Kevin Holland will be the biggest fight of his career to date and will serve as the penultimate fight on a championship card.
The Australian has proven to be a devastating power puncher through his first five UFC fights. His first four were all first-round finishes before going to the wire with Bassil Hafez in a strangely close fight that went to a split decision.
Now he'll get Kevin Holland, a fighter who has shared an Octagon with much bigger names like Khamzat Chimaev, Stephen Thompson and Michael Chiesa.
It's an important step up in competition that should also test his stamina. Della Maddalena is at his most comfortable when he's able to sit down on his punches and be the aggressor. however, Holland is a high volume fighter who could throw off his rhythm.
How Della Maddalena adjusts is going to tell us a lot about his true potential as a striker. If he can control the fight against Holland he's going to be able to continue to climb up the ladder.
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Rosas Jr. vs. Mitchell
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The bantamweight bout between Raul Rosas Jr. and Terrence Mitchell is not a strong candidate for Fight of the Night. It's not one of those bouts that looks like it's going to deliver a back-and-forth affair that contends for Fight of the Night.
Instead, this is a matchup for Rosas to recapture some of the momentum he had before suffering his first career loss to Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287. In that fight, Rodriguez was able to control the space and pace of the bout.
Mitchell is not at the same level that Rodriguez is on. The 33-year-old can be crafty with his submission attempts, but he is far from consistent or as dynamic is Rodrgiuez doing.
This should be a showcase fight for Rosas. Mitchell has just enough positive things in his game that he could make things temporarily interesting for the 18-year-old.
But Rosas has to go out and execute to get some of his momentum back
Prediction: Rosas via second-round submission
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