Reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion Alexa Grasso did not break the rules when she hit Valentina Shevchenko with knees to the head as “Bullet” touched the canvas with one hand.
This was reported by Ariel Helwani, a well-known sports columnist, citing the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
“I spoke to the Nevada State Athletic Commission after the fight, and they told me that if it’s about the hand, the canvass should be touched with the palm of the hand, or the hand should be a support, it should be leaned on,” the reporter said in a video posted on social media. “According to the commission representative, they studied the replay between rounds and all the knee strikes were legal because Valentina’s palm was not touching the canvas and she was not leaning on her hand”
The women’s flyweight title fight, which headlined UFC Fight Night 227 in Las Vegas on Sept. 16, went the full distance and ended in a split decision draw, allowing the Mexican to retain her championship belt. After the result of the match was announced and the judges’ scorecards were released, an uproar erupted as referee Mike Bell gave the fifth round to Grasso by a score of 10-8, thus denying Shevchenko the fight victory.
UFC president, Dana White, assured that the girls will complete the trilogy, however, Shevchenko will not take a title shot until she recovers from surgery on her injured hand.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/32676-aleksa-grasso-ne-narushala-pravila-v-boyu-s-valentinoj-shevchenko.html?rand=19907
