LAS VEGAS – Dana White once said he thinks rising flyweight Alexa Grasso could be the “Ronda Rousey of Mexico.”
Grasso (13-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), for her part, is flattered by the comparison, but thinks she can’t let such talk get in the way of her progress.
“Of course I want to be that in Mexico, but you have to be intelligent and not take the hype and the media and all the volume,” Grasso told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC 258 post-fight news conference. “The attention gets more important than your training. I love to be hearing that, but I just want to focus and train and be better and better and better.”
That’s a solid approach, because after an up-and-down start to her UFC career, Grasso has finally settled into a groove, and it paid off Saturday night in the biggest victory of her career.
Grasso dominated the first two rounds against the much-hyped Maycee Barber and held her opponent off in the third to seal a unanimous decision victory in the co-main event at the UFC Apex. The judges’ scores were 29-28 across the board.
“I feel amazing, I feel strong, I feel fast. I think I showed my ground game is getting better every time.”
Grasso knew what to expect from her foe, but Grasso thinks her all-around game is starting to mature, and that’s why the fight played out in the manner it did.
“She’s a well-rounded opponent,” Grasso said. “I didn’t want to take any good shots because she’s like me. But yeah, it was more strategy – take the things more calm, put her on the fence, do my wrestling, do my jiu-jitsu, the transitions I did with my coach … I was training hard for that.”
All things considered, Grasso might not be another Rousey, but the Guadalajara native is proud of her spot.
“I work very hard with my teammates,” she said. “Everyone who supports me and my gym, we are working very hard. We are making the flag of Mexico on the top.”
To hear more from Grasso, check out the video above.
‘Ronda Rousey of Mexico’ or not, Alexa Grasso focused on improvement after UFC 258