Ex-UFC Champ Valentina Shevchenko Updates Fans After Surgery

Valentina Shevchenko has provided fans with an update on the thumb injury she sustained in her rematch with Alexa Grasso at Noche UFC.

“Bullet” came out on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in UFC history when she was submitted by Grasso in their first meeting at UFC 285. Shevchenko had previously dominated the women’s flyweight division for more than four years, which encouraged the promotion to book an immediate rematch between the two fighters as the headliner for Noche UFC.

A closely-contested fight in Las Vegas saw Grasso retain her title via split draw. Shevchenko revealed after Noche UFC that she’d suffered a thumb injury in the opening round, and after undergoing surgery this week the former champion has updated fans on her recovery.

But doctor said it was challenging to unite the crushed bones.
Recovery from anesthesia wasn’t fun at all! Spend whole day in the bed, taking pain relief pills 🥲Today filling already better 🙏 and were able to go walk to Muscle Beach to charge strong energy for my recovery💪🙂 pic.twitter.com/oQC4C3jJ61
— Valentina Shevchenko (@BulletValentina) September 27, 2023

Assuming her recovery process goes smoothly, the pre-surgery estimation was that Shevchenko would be sidelined for about three months following the procedure.

Three months is a relatively short span for “Bullet" to recover compared to more serious injures other UFC fighters have suffered this year, but it will be interesting to see if the promotion decides to wait for Shevchenko to return in order to book a trilogy fight with Grasso.

Fans probably wouldn’t complain about seeing the two women meet a third time after their exciting second meeting, but the women’s flyweight division does have a few top contenders that are currently waiting for their chance at the title.

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