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Mexican-Born UFC Champion Alexa Grasso Sounds Off on Naysayers Claiming “You Will Never Achieve It if You Are Training in Mexico”

Published 03/22/2023, 4:04 AM EDT

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UFC star Alexa Grasso etched her name in history as she became the first woman UFC champion hailing from Mexico at UFC 285. Significantly, she racked up a dramatic win against Valentina Shevchenko at the T-Mobile Arena. Further, her immaculate fighting skills gained accolades among fans. Since then, the speculations of a potential rematch involving the two also have gained traction. Not only did she bring the belt to her country but also silenced the doubters who questioned her title credentials as well as the acumen of her team. Despite the qualms, the flyweight kingpin completed her journey from starting from ‘zero’ and eventually claiming the UFC gold.

Notably, the 29-year-old addressed the cynics when she appeared on the latest segment of The MMA Hour. In the conversation with Ariel Helwani, she revealed the naysayers advised her to change everything if she wanted to taste success. However, she stuck to her team, and it paid dividends.

Alexa Grasso discloses how she built along with her team from zero

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The Guadalajara native told, “It was huge because we were also said like all of the time, like, no way you will never achieve it if you are training in Mexico. Like you have to change your team. You have to change your city. You have to change everything you do if you want to be the champion.”

via Imago

But the Lobo Gym representative didn’t pay heed to the advice. Thus, she asserted, “And I was like, no, you know. They made me. They’ve made me. We’ve been doing this from zero. You know we had zero background of combat sports like zero-zero.”

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Following this, the Mexican fighter revealed she started with jujitsu tournaments and then climbed to MMA. She also mentioned they had no amateur fights and therefore, the achievement was huge for the team. The UFC women’s flyweight champion further paid homage to her team for her accomplishments.

Grasso tears up as he spells out her team is her family now

The flyweight fighter declared she wanted to prove one could always “do better and achieve things” when they had a good team. A good coach, and good training conditions, nutrition, and the support of people who want to grow together were hard to find. With those, the location factor is negated.

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The #2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter teared up as she continued further. Lastly, she said, “But we are a family, you know. Low and Brazilian we are a family. We are always helping each other… if it wasn’t for them I, I’m gonna cry, I wouldn’t be here, you know.”

“Survived off Sheer F**k You Energy”: Fans React as Alexa Grasso Confesses to Squeezing Valentina Shevchenko’s Face 12 Times Before UFC 285 Win

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What do you think of these statements by UFC champion Alexa Grasso? Do you believe the camp plays an important role in a fighter’s career? Let us know in the comments below.

Watch This Story– MMA pros react to Alexa Grasso becoming third Mexican UFC champ after upsetting Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285

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Written by:

Rohit Lohan

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Rohit Lohan is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. After completing his undergraduate as a History major, he is currently pursuing LLB. Rohit is a big MMA fan and has been following UFC since 2017.
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Edited by:

Amal Joyce