Noche UFC: Valentina Shevchenko To Undergo Surgery After Suffering Hand Injury

Valentina Shevchenko reportedly didn’t leave the octagon at Noche UFC last weekend without getting hurt. ‘Bullet’ recently revealed that she suffered a brutal hand injury during her title fight against Alexa Grasso. The two mercurial women’s flyweight contenders fought for the title at the T-Mobile Arena on September 16. 

Valentina Shevchenko is undeniably among the most decorated female MMA fighters in history. As a champion, the Kyrgyzstan native had seven title defenses before Alexa Grasso beat her at UFC 285. She holds the record for most consecutive title defenses in UFC women’s history. Shevchenko was also on an incredible nine-fight winning streak prior to her first loss against Grasso. 

In their title rematch at Noche UFC, Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso went the distance in a razor-sharp fight. After five exhilarating rounds, the judges’ scorecards delivered a split-draw result. Due to the draw, Grasso retained her championship. However, the scoring caused an uproar within the MMA community, thanks to one judge scoring the final round 10-8 in favor of Grasso despite it being a non-dominant round. 

In a recent Instagram post, Valentina Shevchenko addressed the fight. ‘Bullet’ revealed that she fractured her right thumb during the first round of the fight and will undergo surgery. Later, her team confirmed that Shevchenko would need to rest her hand for three months and that she would not be able to train to strike until she fully recovers.

Valentina Shevchenko later added that she suffered a comminuted fracture. That means her thumb broke in multiple separate pieces. 

Interestingly, Dana White recently confirmed that Shevchenko will run it back against Alexa Grasso in a trilogy bout. The UFC CEO spoke to the media after the conclusion of Dana White’s Contender Series 63 and expressed his anger at last weekend’s results. After confirming the promotion’s intention to book the trilogy rubber match, White blasted the judges for their baffling scoring methods.