Viviane Araujo vs Alexa Grasso scorecard: How close was the Brazilian to defeating the Mexican?

Alexa Grasso is set to take on Valentina Shevchenko for the women's flyweight title at UFC 285 this weekend. To earn her maiden shot at UFC gold, the Mexican native first had to conquer Viviane Araujo.

Alexa Grasso and Araujo headlined UFC Vegas 62 in October last year. The bout was just Grasso's fourth in the flyweight division after stepping up from strawweight.

The 29-year-old truly proved she belonged and maintained her undefeated streak at 125lbs with a unanimous decision victory over the Brazilian.

All three judges scored the fight in favor of Grasso as their cards read 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46. Whilst the scorecards suggest a one-sided affair, their clash was an evenly contested battle in which neither woman was put into any real danger.

The Mexican-born fighter also had a nod on total strikes - 193 strikes to Araujo's 148, but mostly impressed with her takedown defense as she stuffed eight of the Brazilian's 10 attempts throughout the fight.

Shevchenko and Grasso will clash at UFC 285 this weekend in the co-main event. 'Bullet' is planning on extending her title defense streak to eight and win-streak to 10, whereas Grasso is looking to cause a major upset and capture her first UFC title.

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Henry Cejudo weighs in on Alexa Grasso versus Valentina Shevchenko

Henry Cejudo has discussed the upcoming women's flyweight title bout between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko in the latest video on his YouTube channel.

According to Cejudo, Grasso's fighting style could pose an interesting threat to Shevchenko. 'Triple C' believes the 29-year-old has serious power in her striking and refuses to rule out that she's capable of causing an upset.

"I will say this, this fight will go the distance. The toughest matchup that Valentina's gonna have is against a girl like Alexa. She has power in her hands. If Valentina decides to sit there and go blow for blow with Alexa Grasso, Alexa Grasso could potentially put her out."

Cejudo added that whilst he couldn't rule out a shock victory for Grasso, he highlighted parts of her game that he expects 'Bullet' to exploit:

"There's one thing that Alexa does have that not a lot of people have capitalized is her stance. She's very very wide in her stance, and I do believe that if Valentina plays her game right tactically, there's gonna be a lot of leg-kicks."

Catch the video here: (3:15):