Felice Herrig picks up huge win over rising star Alexa Grasso
Felice Herrig promised she wasn't going to be a stepping stone to Alexa Grasso, who was being touted as "the next big thing" in the UFC strawweight division, and that's exactly what she delivered with a unanimous decision win in Houston.
Despite having more experience both inside and outside the Octagon than her opponent, Herrig walked into the fight as a 2-to-1 underdog as Grasso has been considered one of the top prospects the 115-pound division has produced in recent years.
As the fight got underway, Herrig showed tremendous poise and patience as she waited for the right openings in Grasso's defense to unleash her quick, stifling combinations.
Time and time again, Herrig found a home for her overhand right, which constantly found a home on Grasso's jaw.
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The 23-year-old Mexican prospect continued to step forward throughout the three-round affair but just couldn’t seem to pull the trigger while Herrig was popping her with stiff punches throughout the fight.
Grasso finally woke up in the third round and tried to put together a few exchanges to draw Herrig into a firefight, but the former "Ultimate Fighter" competitor was composed and stuck with her game plan until the final horn sounded.
When it was over, all three judges scored the fight for Herrig, who now moves to 3-1 in the UFC. Afterwards, Herrig wasted no time asking for her next opponent following two very impressive wins in a row in her past pair of fights.
"I feel like the fight where I hit rock bottom was against Paige VanZant. Paige you have not fought Felice Herrig. You fought some blubbery girl who just laid on the canvas and let you be your punching bag," Herrig said after the fight.
"So I would like the fight against Paige VanZant back or I was scheduled to fight Michelle Waterson and they took it away from me after two weeks and gave it to Paige. So I'll take Waterson or Paige."
Herrig fell to VanZant in her only loss in the UFC while Waterson is currently 2-0 in her campaign in the Octagon so either fight could make sense for the former "Ultimate Fighter" contender.
