'We will rematch them' - Dana White confirms Grasso-Shevchenko trilogy will happen after judging controversy

Dana White has confirmed that a third showdown between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso will take place after their UFC flyweight title fight was thrust into controversy.

Shevchenko was aiming to reclaim the belt she lost to Grasso at UFC 285, but the contest was ruled a split draw after one judge, Mike Bell, scored the fifth and final round 10-8 in Grasso’s favour.

It proved to be decisive as Grasso retained her status as the champion and White, who wasn’t in attendance for the UFC Noche main event, has now weighed in on the matter, saying Bell’s scorecard “literally makes no sense.”

“When I found out that one of the judges scored 10-8, I’m like, this guy should be f****** investigated for this. This is the craziest s*** I’ve ever seen in my life,” White said.

“I started to talk to people, I guess there’s a seminar tomorrow with the [Nevada] athletic commission on 10-8s, so hopefully they can get this cleared up. Especially in title [fights], there’s so much at stake in a title fight. More than just money, show and win, and pay-per-view and championships and legacies. You have to have the best of the best in title fights.

“Unfortunately, you’ll probably never have the opportunity to have him sitting somewhere like this and ask him that question, because only he knows the answer to that question. Valentina gets dropped in [Round 2], that’s not a 10-8 but the fifth round is a 10-8?"

White added: “These people are human, they make mistakes, but this one’s total bulls***. For that to be a 10-8 round, there is no excuse for that. There is no excuse for that 10-8.”

To make matters worse for Shevchenko, she confirmed she suffered a comminuted fracture of her hand in the first round that will require surgery and a period on the sidelines.

But White insists he is "comfortable" with Shevchenko's recovery timeline and that she will get the next title shot on her return.

“They have to rematch. You have do the rematch. We will rematch them. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the fight that needs to happen,” White said.

“We’re comfortable with where [Shevchenko] is at as far as her injury. We’re comfortable with it. She probably starts striking again in three months or a little less.”

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