Alexa Grasso, Valentina Shevchenko to Coach Season 32 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’

Happy International Women's Day!#TUF32 coaches will be @AlexaGrasso and @BulletValentina premiering June 4th on @ESPN! @UltimateFighter pic.twitter.com/JC4msNmWuY

— danawhite (@danawhite) March 8, 2024

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is giving “The Ultimate Fighter” another go this summer.

The long-running reality show will be entering into its 32nd numbered season, kicking off on June 4, where it will air on ESPN and ESPN+. The two coaches for the show will be women’s flyweight champ Alexa Grasso and former women’s 125-pound queen Valentina Shevchenko. The weight classes they will coach were announced in December, with the two ladies taking charge of featherweight and middleweight teams. It is expected but not official that they will fight for a third time at the conclusion of the season—some have speculated on the Noche UFC event, also known as UFC 306, inside of The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.

Grasso wrested the belt from the dominant champion in March 2023 at UFC 285, when she forced Shevchenko to tap to a face crank late in the fourth round. Of note, that marked just the second submission of her career, with the first coming one year earlier over Joanne Wood. This victory extended the win streak to five for the woman from Guadalajara, Mexico. The two ran it back five months later, and they fought to a contentious split draw.

This unsuccessful two-fight stretch for Shevchenko is the longest winless streak for the career of “Bullet.” While Shevchenko initially had success at 135 pounds, fighting for the belt twice against Amanda Nunes and losing a close split decision in the rematch, flyweight is where she has cemented her legacy. The Kyrgyzstani by way of Peru moved to the weight class in 2018, shellacked Priscila Cachoeira and never looked back. Claiming the vacant throne against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Shevchenko went on to defend it a remarkable seven times to set a UFC women’s championship record.