Las Vegas, NV — UFC 258 was all about living up to potential for Alexa Grasso.
The strawweight turned flyweight earned her second straight win at 125lbs in the co-main event of the PPV card on Saturday night. She did so against one of the most hyped fighters in the weight class, Maycee “The Future” Barber.
Of course, Grasso knows a thing or two about hype. Once upon a time, it was suggested that she could be the “Ronda Rousey of Mexico.”
Strong words, coming as they did from UFC President Dana White. Grasso, however, isn’t letting that sort of comparison go to her head. “Of course I want to be like that in Mexico,” she told Cageside Press during the UFC 258 post-fight press conference. “But you have to also be intelligent, to not let the hype and the media, all the volume and all the attention get more important than your training.”
Still, Grasso ddi admit that “I love that, I love to be hearing that.” It’s just that her focus will remain on her training, and “getting better and better and better.”
At UFC 258, it was clearly Grasso’s wrestling and grappling game that had improved. “[Maycee Barber]’s a well-rounded opponent. I didn’t want to take any good shots, because she hits heavy like me,” the Mexican fighter admitted. “It was more strategy. More calm, put her on the fence, do my wrestling, do my jiu-jitsu.” Which led to Grasso earning a unanimous decision win. Barber did take one round, with the score 29-28 on all three judges’ scorecards.
When it comes to Barber’s power, “she hits hard,” Grasso reiterated later. Her own cage time, however, may have given Alexa Grasso an edge in the fight. “I was the veteran this time in the cage. I’m usually the youngest athlete in the octagon, this time I was the veteran. So I used that in my win.”
Part of that veteran experience was demonstrating some patience. “Wait, waiting for the good shot,” she put it.
As to what comes next, “I don’t think I have to call [out] anybody, but I just want to be climbing,” said Grasso. For a timeframe, “June, July maybe again,” she said, adding with a laugh “before Christmas.”
Watch the full UFC 258 post-fight press conference with Alexa Grasso above.
