Alexa Grasso has no regrets leaving the UFC strawweight division.
The Mexican fighter competes Saturday for the second time in a weight class above her original division. Grasso (12-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) takes on Maycee Barber in the co-main event of UFC 258 in Las Vegas, which is headlined by a welterweight championship bout between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns.
A UFC win and two training camps in at 125 pounds, Grasso is glad she made the move up to flyweight and left behind her long-time home at 115 pounds. Grasso has gained a significant amount of muscle now training and thinks the move up in weight will help her reach her full potential.
“I loved strawweight, and I was determined to be a strawweight no matter what,” Grasso told MMA Junkie in Spanish on Wednesday. “But the truth is that, with this change, my body has matured and it’s changed. My muscles have grown, and I think that this change was an excellent decision.
“I feel very happy, I feel great. This is a new path, you know. I’m new to the division, so I’m coming full strength, and just like I did at strawweight, I want to be at the very top.”
Grasso, who’s currently ranked No. 15 in the UFC’s official women’s flyweight rankings, is coming off a decision win over Ji Yeon Kim last August, which marked her flyweight debut. The 27-year-old hopes to take Barber’s No. 10 spot in the rankings if victorious Saturday.
“I hope that’s what happens,” Grasso said. “Sometimes I don’t know how the rankings work, but she’s No. 10 and I want that position. We have a fight in front of us, and I’m here to reach my goal.”
Grasso, a Lobo Gym product, is excited for her new chapter at 125 pounds. She’s also looking forward to her first co-main event on a UFC pay-per-view.
“Obviously the nerves are there,” Grasso explained. “They’re part of the emotion and what you have to feel because that’s how you feel alive and know you’re going to get into a fight on Saturday. But more than anything, I’m excited.
“With everything that’s been going on in the world, I’m very thankful to have a job, and I’m eager to show everybody what I’ve been working on these past few months.”
Alexa Grasso calls flyweight move ‘excellent decision,’ wants top-10 ranking with Maycee Barber win