Alexa Grasso Lands One of the Best Women’s MMA KOs Ever at UFC Seattle

If we were living in the Wild West, Alexa Grasso would have Wanted posters up about her at this point after dropping a body with a dangerous weapon – her straight left fist.

March 28 proved to be an exciting night in the world of combat sports, with fun action taking place with UFC Seattle, PFL Pittsburgh, RAF 07, and Sebastian Fundora vs. Keith Thurman. But out of everything that transpired with these cards, from dominant decisions, to first-round finishes, bad judging, and everything in between, Grasso probably stands out among the pack.

Grasso competed in the UFC Seattle co-main event, taking on Maycee Barber. On the surface, this appeared to be a high-stakes matchup for both for different reasons.

For Grasso, she was 0-2-1 since winning the UFC women’s flyweight title in upset fashion against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285. She battled her to a draw and then dropped the title back to her in their trilogy. She then lost to Natalia Silva at UFC 315.A loss would pretty much drop her completely out of the women’s flyweight top contender picture.

For Barber, this was an opportunity at revenge. She and Grasso had fought at UFC 258 in February 2021, with Grasso taking a decision win. Grasso’s boxing was on display in that fight; she was quicker in both striking and footwork, leading to a fairly one-sided decision. Since then, however, Barber had won seven straight, and a win here would elevate her closer to a long-desired title shot.

The two started the fight even, with both landing leg kicks and trying to outpace one another.

Then, in one split second, it happened. 

Grasso landed a short right hand on Barber, only to follow it up with a straight left that cracked her.

From the second the punch landed, Barber was out. She appeared out on her feet and was slowly going down, as Grasso attempted to jump on her back and go for the submission. But it wasn’t needed; she had already done the damage and produced a highlight-reel KO that earned her a Performance of the Night bonus.

Whether serious or quipping, some are saying that Barber was technically finished twice in the fight. Some feel it should have been a submission win for Grasso since it was the final moment of the fight.

But if you look at Barber’s eyes from the second the punch connected to her prone body laying on the mat of the Octagon, she was gone. And that was all from the punch. It honestly looked like when Emanuel Newton knocked out Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal at Bellator 90.

It was one of the most brutal knockouts in women’s MMA history – and perhaps, in Brendan Fitzgerald’s words, the greatest. It may not have the historical impact of Holly Holm head kicking Ronda Rousey, but it’s definitely on the violent level that Shevchenko knocking out Jessica Eye at UFC 238 was.

And after that finish, you have to assume Silva is going to get the next shot at Shevchenko. And if Shevchenko gets by her and Grasso gets another win, perhaps Grasso gets one more crack? After all, the series is technically 1-1-1 – even though we’ve already seen a quadrilogy this decade (Figueiredo vs. Moreno) and many felt Shevchenko should have gotten the nod in their second fight.

Anyway, anyone who wants to get to Shevchenko right now has to get by Grasso.

It’s only the end of March, and Grasso may have already made a strong case for herself for Knockout of the Year. Heck, it’s a Knockout of a Lifetime.