Late on Wednesday, UFC President Dana White announced on his social media channels a special fight night event coming to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 16 to celebrate Mexican Independence Day.
White revealed flyweight champion Alexa Grasso will defend her belt in a rematch against longtime queen Valentina Shevchenko in the main event. Grasso upset Shevchenko and ended her 4-and-a-half year reign as champion when she submitted “Bullet” at UFC 285. In addition to becoming Mexico’s second-ever undisputed champion, Grasso also handed Shevchenko her first loss since September 2017 and became only the second woman (after Amanda Nunes) to defeat Shevchenko in the UFC.
The victory also continued the great momentum for Mexican fighters in 2023 following Brandon Moreno’s unification of the flyweight title over longtime rival Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 283 and Yair Rodriguez’s win in the interim featherweight title fight at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia.
“Mexico has always been a very important market to me since day one,” White said. “I recently told everyone at a press conference that we had made a big mistake by not showcasing our world champions and Mexican talent on a Mexican holiday. I went back to the office after the press conference, and I fixed that immediately.”
Rodriguez and Moreno will compete in the main and co-main event of UFC 290: Volkanovski vs Rodriguez, respectfully.
In addition to the main event, White announced Shavkhat Rakmonov and Kelvin Gastelum will feature in the co-main event. Rakmonov stretched his undefeated record to 17-0 (with 17 finishes) when he submitted Geoff Neal at UFC 285, but Gastelum will easily be the toughest test of his career. The Mexican-American middleweight recently bounced back with a Fight of the Night victory over Chris Curtis at UFC 287 and remains one of the toughest outs at 185 pounds.
White finished the announcement saying he will continue to provide updates to the September 16 event as the card is built out and promises the “most incredible card” in Las Vegas.
Stay tuned to UFC.com for any and all updates to events and fights.
UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs Shevchenko 2 took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 16, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
