South Korea’s Ji Yeon Kim welcomes Alexa Grasso to the UFC’s flyweight division this Saturday at UFC Vegas 8.
It’s a fight that wound up delayed from its original date in June. Travel restrictions, in this case, came into play. But the delay at least gave her extra time to heal up from elbow surgery.
“Due to coronavirus, we did have to reschedule,” Kim acknowledged at the event’s media day this week, speaking to Cageside Press and other media outlets. “I did have surgery in October of last year, so this was a lot better for me to heal and have more time for recovery.”
Surgery wasn’t the easiest for the fighter, who even before fighting focused on a healthy lifestyle. For any athlete, noted Kim, their body comes first. “I’ve always been a very health-conscious person, so as an athlete, I had to make sure that my mental game and physical strength were back up,” she said. “Of course it’s discouraging having to have surgery, and a little setback, but I prepared myself. I’m mentally and physically ready.”
Kim noted she’s in tip-top shape, in fact. Good thing, as Grasso will not doubt be extra motivated, moving to a new weight class.
When it comes to the weight question, Kim acknowledged that Grasso was big for 115lbs. “At strawweight, she seemed very big for her weight class and being that it’s flyweight, I think that we’ll see a lot of different things in her performance,” Kim suggested.
Watch the full UFC Vegas 8 virtual media day press scrum with Ji Yeon Kim above.
