| UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | September 16, 2023 (2023-09-16) | |||
| Venue | T-Mobile Arena | |||
| City | Paradise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | 18,766[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2,265,537.16[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 (also known asUFC Fight Night 227,UFC on ESPN+ 85 andNoche UFC) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 16, 2023, at theT-Mobile Arena inParadise, Nevada, part of theLas Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]
The event celebratedMexico's independence Day, which included having a variety of fighters of Mexican descent compete at the event; the concept rode the coattails of Las Vegas having traditionally hosted majorboxing matches involving Mexican fighters on or around Independence Day.[3]
AUFC Women's Flyweight Championship rematch between current championAlexa Grasso and former championValentina Shevchenko headlined the event.[4] The pair previously met atUFC 285 in March 2023 in which Grasso captured the title via a fourth round submission upset.[5]
A welterweight bout betweenShavkat Rakhmonov and former interimUFC Middleweight Championship challenger (alsoThe Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen middleweight winner)Kelvin Gastelum was expected to take place at the event.[6] However, Gastelum withdrew after sustaining a facial fracture.[7]
A middleweight bout betweenChris Curtis andAnthony Hernandez was expected to take place at the event.[8] However, Curtis withdrew due to a rib injury and was replaced byRoman Kopylov.[9] In turn, Hernandez pulled out of the bout due to a torn ligament and was replaced by Josh Fremd.[10]
A welterweight bout betweenDaniel Rodriguez andSantiago Ponzinibbio was expected to take place at the event.[11] However, Rodriguez was pulled from the bout byUSADA after testing positive for the banned substanceostarine.[12] Ponzinibbio then announced in early September that he would not be competing at the event after all.[13]
A women's strawweight bout betweenElise Reed andCynthia Calvillo was expected to take place at the event.[14] However, Calvillo pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Iasmin Lucindo in a catchweight bout of 120 pounds.[15] In turn, Reed was removed from the event for undisclosed reason and was replaced byJosefine Lindgren Knutsson.[16] Then, Lucindo withdrew from the event due to an undisclosed injury and newcomer Marnic Mann served as her replacement.[17]
A lightweight bout betweenNatan Levy and Alex Reyes was scheduled for the event.[18] However, Levy withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by newcomer Charlie Campbell.[19]
| Main card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Women's Flyweight | Alexa Grasso (c) | vs. | Valentina Shevchenko | Draw (split) (48–47, 47–48, 47–47) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Welterweight | Jack Della Maddalena | def. | Kevin Holland | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Raul Rosas Jr. | def. | Terrence Mitchell | TKO (punches) | 1 | 0:54 | |
| Lightweight | Daniel Zellhuber | def. | Christos Giagos | Submission (anaconda choke) | 2 | 3:26 | |
| Featherweight | Kyle Nelson | def. | Fernando Padilla | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN+) | |||||||
| Women's Strawweight | Lupita Godinez | def. | Elise Reed | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 3:30 | |
| Middleweight | Roman Kopylov | def. | Josh Fremd | KO (punch to the body) | 2 | 4:44 | |
| Flyweight | Edgar Chairez | vs. | Daniel Lacerda | No Contest (premature stoppage) | 1 | 3:47 | [b] |
| Women's Flyweight | Tracy Cortez | def. | Jasmine Jasudavicius | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Charlie Campbell | def. | Alex Reyes | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:38 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Josefine Lindgren Knutsson | def. | Marnic Mann | Decision (unanimous) (30–24, 30–25, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[21]
