Alexa Grasso v Valentina Shevchenko Odds: Champion 9/2 for repeat submission victory

Alexa Grasso will make her second women's UFC flyweight title defence against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 306 on Saturday night.

Alexa Grasso v Valentina Shevchenko odds

(Odds will display when markets are available)

Widely recognised as the best female fighter in the world after Amanda Nunes, Shevchenko's four-and-a-half-year reign as flyweight champion was brought to an end by Grasso at UFC 285, falling victim to a neck crank, and the Mexican is 9/2 to record another submission win.

The pair were always set to meet for a third time after their second fight resulted in a split draw that could so easily have gone either way.

Shevchenko took the first and third rounds, while Grasso took the second and fifth. The only dispute was who took the fourth round and whether the fifth was worthy of a 10-8 in favour of the champion.

And although we've seen nearly nine completed rounds between the pair, it's still nearly impossible to call who will walk out of the Sphere with the belt around their waist on Saturday night.

Shevchenko was a huge favourite for their first encounter, and the loss was one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. While Bullet was slightly favoured for the rematch, it's the Mexican who's now slight favourite against the 36-year-old Shevchenko.

Many fighters who lose their titles after long reigns are never the same again. Anderson Silva was a shadow of himself after losing to Chris Weidman. Even Weidman has only won three of his nine fights since losing the belt. Joanna Jedrzejczyk was 14-0 after her fifth strawweight title defence and is 16-5 now.

Only a small handful of fighters have lost a UFC title after a lengthy reign only to win it back, and they include the likes of Randy Couture, Israel Adesanya, Stipe Miocic and Amanda Nunes.

Can Shevchenko join them? We'll find out on Saturday night.

Liam Williams

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