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Being billed as Noche UFC, this week's UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 has great significance behind it. The card marks the company's first-ever event celebrating Mexican Independence Day on September 16.
It's a great tradition in the world of combat sports to host events on September 16. Going into the event, many people might wonder what 'Noche UFC' means. The term 'Noche' is a Latin word that means 'Night'. Hence, 'Noche UFC' translates to UFC Night.
The card is set to be headlined by a highly anticipated rematch between Mexico's first-ever female UFC champion, Alexa Grasso, and Valentina Shevchenko.
The two had their first fight earlier this year at UFC 285. On the night, despite being an underdog, the Mexican managed to submit Shevchenko in the fourth round and became the UFC women's flyweight champion.
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That said, it remains to be seen if Alexa Grasso can manage to retain her UFC women's flyweight championship against Valentina Shevchenko on a day that marks great significance for her country.
Noche UFC: Alexa Grasso talks about Valentina Shevchenko being the cover star for UFC 5
The highly awaited EA Sports UFC 5 video game is set to feature Alexander Volkanovski and Valentina Shevchenko as the cover stars for its standard edition. However, there have been questions raised around 'Bullet' being on the cover despite losing her flyweight crown in her last outing.
While many suggested that Alexa Grasso was more deserving of being the cover star, the Mexican doesn't believe so herself. While speaking at media day ahead of her first title defense this weekend, Grasso was asked if she believed she was more deserving of being the cover star.
Responding to the question, Alexa Grasso said:
"No, I don't think they made a mistake. We can't forget about everything she has done for the sport. She's a big star. It's not like just a win gets you all the credit you have done. Right now, I have to earn that. I have to have a lot of title defenses and then, after, I would hope that I could have my face on the cover of the game."
Check out Alexa Grasso's comments below:
