UFC Fight Night: Maia vs Usman: The best and worst

#2 Worst: The UFC fails to protect a top prospect in Grasso

The UFC should be doing more to protect a marketable prospect like Alexa Grasso

After the way Tatiana Suarez performed last night, it’d be hard to deny that she deserved a fight with a top ten contender, but the question I’m asking is why did that fighter have to be a fellow young prospect in Alexa Grasso?

Sure, Grasso was going into the fight ranked as the #9 Strawweight in the world, but realistically she’d only beaten one other ranked fighter – the inconsistent Randa Markos – to gain that spot. A marketable and exciting fighter, Grasso could’ve gotten some momentum had she been matched with a couple of lower fighters, but now she’ll be forced to rebuild after suffering a one-sided loss to Suarez.

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With other, older fighters around the same area of the rankings, (Markos, Cortney Casey, Felice Herrig) it would’ve been smarter for the UFC to have Suarez test herself against one of them rather than match prospect against prospect. Suarez/Grasso sounded cool on paper, but the UFC ought to be doing more to protect top prospects like Grasso.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by Kishan Prasad